Worlds Apart
by Senwich
Summary: There is a wide gap between worlds and that gap can never ever be filled. Yet in the most impossible way ever, they were able to reach each other. They were...worlds apart. [ItaSaku]
1. Chapter 1

**Senko:** You all know I just love Sakura ;D …er…not in a romantic way, though o.O;; well yeah, she muh favorite character in Naruto! So now I've got a couple SasuSaku ficcies for her and a NejiSaku ficcie for her! Now, I make an ItaSaku! Oh, by the way, I've been thinking of a GaaSaku vampire fic!

**IMPORTANT: **All of the characters will be 17 years old. I will be explaining what happened and how they all became friends in the next and/or future chapters. One last note, I know the first paragraph of this chapter is biased. However, I am only writing out what I see in _many_ of the girl characters of Naruto when the series began. You remember how Sasuke has all those fan girls? Well, yeah, I am referring to them when I say "…the dream of every young girl…"

**Summary:** "I know you like these stupid stuffs. The lady at the antique store said you write a what-if sentence in it and it comes true – like what if Naruto had a brain." ItaSaku

**Disclaimer:** Me no own! DUH!

**Chapter 1**

It was the dream of every young girl – to fall in love with their prince charming or knight in shiny armor, marry him, and live happily ever after. But girls…aren't we picky? We want a guy who is good-looking, who is romantic, who has those mesmerizing eyes, who is mature but not too mature, who has a good sense of humor but not to the point where he is an idiot, who is mysterious but not so mysterious as to not tell us anything, who is dark... For Haruno Sakura, she held enough fortune to win that jackpot – but with various twists thrown into the story.

"Open it."

Confusion filled her jade orbs. How long had she waited for a moment like this? Nine years, was it? Or was it less? Ever since she was but seven years old, she had pictured countless scenerios like this. Was _the_ Uchiha Sasuke really giving her a birthday present? Her eyes shifted down to the thin gift wrapped in silver wrapping paper with a thin, red ribbon.

Sakura's delicate fingers unwrapped the shimmery wrapping paper to reveal a thin, black hardcovered notebook. In the middle was carved in silver-colored letters 'Wish.' It was elegant. To the side was a matching pen. She looked at the Uchiha that stood in front of her, a stoic expression on his face. Behind him stood a reticent Hinata and a gleeful Naruto.

Naruto grinned. "Ta-da! Like it, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm supposed to ask that, moron. I gave her the gift," Sasuke glared at Naruto.

Naruto glared back. "Well, maybe if Sakura-chan can read minds I wouldn't have to say what you're thinking."

Sakura smiled. "It's beautiful, Sasuke-kun."

"Well, I know you like these kind of stuff," he replied. "The lady at the antique store said you write a what-if sentence in it and it comes true - like what if Naruto had a brain."

"What! You bastard!" Naruto attempted to lunge toward Sasuke but was held back by his girlfriend, Hinata.

"N-Naruto-kun, c-calm down," Naruto immediately calmed down at his girlfriend's words. He folded his arms with an expression that clearly declared he was about to give a show of bravado.

"You should be grateful, bastard. If it wasn't for Hinata-chan, I would've beaten you to a pulp and you would have faced great humidation."

Silence loomed for a second. "That's _humiliation_, moron, and whatever."

Hinata changed the subject. "Ah, uhm, S-Sakura-chan, why...why don't you write something?"

Suddenly, all the disputes between the Uchiha and Uzumaki seemed to have been history. Sakura was greeted with a gentle Hinata, grinning Naruto, and smirking Uchiha. "Well, I don't know. It might not even be true."

She had just turned seventeen. Stuff like this would seem untrue and childish, but perhaps there was still traces of the child she used to be that made her slightly eager to write something down and see if it would come true. A familiar voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Write something, Sakura-chan, like what if I became the Hokage!"

Was it because she was turning seventeen that she didn't feel that urge to punch him for saying that? If she could remember, she would always punch or yell at Naruto for showing any sign of being overconfident or perverted. Perhaps it was because she hadn't received a gift from him or Sasuke in three years. After her fifteenth birthday, Naruto returned. It wasn't until later that Sasuke returned to Konoha. A weak smile crept on her peach skin. She would write something. She would write a wish. She would write what she wished had never happened so that perhaps things would have been better off.

Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke waited for a moment as the pink-haired kunoichi quickly scribbled something down quickly on the front page of the notebook. She beamed once she was down, holding out the page for the three. "Ta-dah!"

Three pairs of eyes studied the single sentence. Two were in utter surprise while the other had a different reaction. Naruto stared at the sentence in confusion. "What if...the Uchiha Clan hadn't been...massa...massa-what?"

Sasuke's dark aura went unnoticed only to Naruto.

"Uhm...N-Naruto-kun, it says w-what if the Uchiha Clan...wasn't, uhm, k-killed," Hinata said.

"Oh! Well, then..." Naruto's constant grin immediately ceased. He glanced at Sasuke, wondering what reaction this drew from him. Just as expected, Sasuke hid all emotions.

"That's very thoughtful, Sakura," he said.

What if the Uchiha Clan hadn't been massacred?

* * *

Sakura bolted up awake. The once cerulean sky was now dominated with a reddish hue, and the bright sun that hung in the sky was now dropping beyond the horizon. She had fallen asleep. Looking around, she noticed that no one else was there. 

"Shit," she whispered, quickly forcing herself up from the tree she laid under. She left, her destination the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Sakura sprinted across Konohagakure. Midway through her trip to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, she halted. Her attention was caught by the Uchiha estate just in front of her. The lights in the buildings were on and she could see the figures of some Konohagakure villagers roaming around. Odd. No one except the Uchiha surviver entered the Uchiha estate ever since the devastating Uchiha massacre.

Curious, she entered the Uchiha Estate. Something strange was going on. The faint traces of blood and the cold aura of death that was supposed to dominate the area was no longer there. A feeling of warmth and a sense of protection bloomed from the estate. Was she caught under a genjutsu? Or was this just a dream? Picking up her pace, Sakura soon broke out into a dash.

Standing in front of a large building were three girls, chatting and giggling. Sakura stopped before them. "Excuse me, what's going on tonight?"

The girls immediately stopped their chatter. One the girls had short, dark blue hair. She smiled. "They are announcing the fiancee of..."

"Itachi-sama!" all three girls squealed dreamily.

Another girl, with orange hair, grutned. "She is _so_ lucky! It's just not fair! Itachi-sama should just be single forever!"

The three girls all concurred with a squeal.

Itachi? What the hell? Everything was getting stranger now. Sakura decided to enter the building. First, the Uchiha estate is alive again; now, Itachi has a fiancee? Puh-lease, what girl in her right mind would want to wed a cold-hearted and psychotic S-class criminal? Someone _must_ have put a genjutsu on her. Sakura made her way through the lonely corridor and arrived at a closed door. She entered it.

"...for the future of this clan, and there she is. Please welcome Haruno Sakura, fiancee of Uchiha Itachi."

Suddenly, all eyes turned to the single kunoichi situation directly at the door and a round of applause filled the rather large room. The faces in the rooms were all familiar. Sakura stood in confusion as her eyes studied the room, taking note of people there. Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Yamanaka and more where all present. What was going on?

* * *

**Senko: **Well, what did you all think? Should I continue? Oh yeah, everything will be revealed in the next chapter, I think! If you review, please don't ask about it, OK? Oh yeah, will someone tell me if there really IS a rule that authors can no longer respond to reviews? T-T cause I read a fic and the author said that and then a few days later I got a couple of petitions petitioning the rule and yeah. 

Last note, uhm, yeah, my story "First Love" might not be updated for a while. I am very busy with school, and I know that's not a really good reason. To tell the truth, I know how FL will end already. I'm just having difficulty with the action scene. A very nice authoress, I think her penname is yokaigirl(?), decided to help me and she has been a great help giving a lot of details and suggestions and she even gave me a random paragraph that I can use. It might take a while for me to write out the action scene she gave me. If you really want me to update FL like so totally freaking bad or something, you can write an action scene for me lol to contact me, view my profile.

REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

**Senko: **Yo everyone! Thankies a bunchies to everyone who reviewed in the previous chapter! This is my X-mas gift to all of you nice readers! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

**Important:** I DON'T KNOW WHAT SASUKE'S DAD'S NAME IS -- WHICH IS WHY I WILL BE CALLING HIM UCHIHA-SAMA. By adding the suffix "sama" after Uchiha, this means that I am referring to the head of the Uchiha Clan. If you know his name, then uhhhh tell me? LoL

**Summary: **"I know you like these kind of stupid stuffs. The lady said you write a what-if sentence in it and it comes true - like what if Naruto had a brain." ItaSaku

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, you wouldn't be reading this - you'd be seeing it on television and Naruto would be categorized under romance!

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**Chapter 2**

Sakura froze at the entrance of the grand room. Her eyes continually peered at the familiar faces in the room that now seemed so unfamiliar and foreign to her. They were all dining and chatting, as though they had expected every event that would happen, namely her entering the room and being introduced as a fiancee to one of the most powerful and evil S-class criminal alive. The words floating around endlessly throughout her mind, even though she struggled to digest them.

_Haruno Sakura...fiancee...Uchiha Itachi..._

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura glanced around, towards the source of the voice. It was Ino's. She was sitting at a table with a few empty chairs to her right. Sasuke was situated to her left. "Come sit here with us!" Sakura, with all the strength that she had at the moment, walked up to the table and took a seat.

"Uh...hey, Ino," Sakura greeted as she took a seat at the table. She studied the people that were sitting at the table and realized that she knew them all. Ino was to her left, and then Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji. "What's going on?"

Ino beamed brightly. "Congradulations, Sakura-chan! Wow! I never imagined that my best friend would be marrying _the_ Uchiha Itachi! And I can't believe that you actually hid this from me well enough too! You know, there were so many girls going around claiming that they were Uchiha Itachi's fiancee when Uchiha-sama announced that Itachi-san was engaged!"

Sakura blinked. Ino called her her best friend? What announcement? Uchiha Itachi engaged, and to her? "Wait..._what_?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Ino laughed. "Well, that's probably why I didn't know! Maybe Uchiha-sama didn't tell you that he announced that Itachi-san was engaged and that he wouldn't be revealing who the girl is until tonight! That must be why you didn't tell me! Well, Sakura-chan, I forgive you for not telling me! I know you aren't the type of person to go around and boast!"

Maybe this is a dream. Maybe she would wake up soon. But that wasn't going to stop her from questioning what bizarre dream this is.

"I'm engaged to _the _Uchiha Itachi?" she asked.

Ino shot her a questioning look. "Uhm...yeah? Gosh, Sakura-chan, and you're supposed to be the smartest kunoichi in Konoha, next to Tsunade-sama that is! I mean, you just appeared when Uchiha-sama announced that you are Itachi-san's fiancee! Oh wait! Could it be that he didn't tell you either? That can't be, though! Sakura-chan, are you okay? Did you hit your head? Oh, my god, are you even Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan! Are you in there! Did someone possess you!"

"Uhm, I'm okay, Ino. No one is possessing me," Sakura assured Ino. "But I'm really confused right now and I don't know what is going on and I'm trying my best to be calm about this - is this some sort of joke? Because if this is, you should all know I will hunt down every single one of you and make you pay."

Ino bursted out into laughter, and so did Naruto and Choji. "Sakura-chan, you are so funny!"

"Sakura-san?"

All eyes turned to see TenTen, Neji, and Lee. TenTen smiled, "Congradulations, Sakura-san!"

Lee grinned, "Sakura-san, congradulations! It was very unexpected for you to be engaged to_ the_ Uchiha Itachi because...well, I always thought that the cooler and more powerful ones, like me, would catch your attention, but oh well I guess I was wrong."

Everyone stared at Lee as though he was insane.

"Congradulations, Sakura," Neji said calmly.

Sakura gave a nervous laughter. "Uhm...I really don't know what you guys are talking about but, um, thanks I guess..."

"Hm? What do you mean you don't know what we're talking about?" TenTen asked. "Oh! Don't tell me that they didn't tell you until now!"

"We did tell her, "Sasuke said. "I don't think Sakura's feeling well today."

"Sakura-chan, are you feeling ok?" Naruto asked.

Still in disbelief, shock, uncertainty, and all that negative stuff, Sakura struggled to confirm just what was happening. "Yes...I'm okay..."

Across the room, the head of the Uchiha Clan was busy chatting with the heads of the other clans of Konohagakure. The pink-haired kunoichi engaged to his eldest son did not go unnoticed to him through the corners of his eyes, and he couldn't help but remember that one particular day that led to this...

_"Once again, I cannot think of any way to pay you! I...my family and I would not be here today without you!" The man bowed to him._

_He held his usual stoic expression. "It is alright, my friend. It was a pleasure to help any friend of mine."_

_"But I am in debt of you...if you had not helped my wife and I, not only would we dead today but so would our child who wouldn't be able to see the world at all," his voice shooked and choked, and he strived to force the tears from falling. "I will do anything to repay you, anything at all."_

_He was about to tell the man there was no need and that it was not necessary, but suddenly an idea had struck him. "Actually, there is something..."_

_The man's eyes glowed with delight. "What is it? What can I do?"_

_"You see...my son is rather antisocial. He is to be the heir of my clan, but I fear that he would be unable to find a successor, you know? So, your daughter that you are expecting, when she turns seventeen and if my son should still be single, do you think that you can engage for your daughter to marry my son?"_

_"Yes, yes, anything! Wait..your eldest son, right?"_

_"Yes...my eldest son, Uchiha Itachi."_

* * *

**Senko: **Okay, all you haveta know about this is that Sasuke's dad saved Sakura's parents from dying (and at the time Sakura's mom was pregnant with Sakura) and Sakura's dad wanted to repay Sasuke's dad ;D there. 

**Important: **Will someone write an action scene for my story "First Love"? -.- I just edited chapter four and changed the end of it. I could attempt to write an action scene, but I just suck at it and I don't have time to stress over writing an action scene for it. Please! I really need someone to write the action scene for me! I don't care what you write in it just as long as you include a certain something! If you are willing to write me an action scene, contact me ok? Cause then I'll tell you the certain something I want you to include. I really am in desperate need of your help! Once the action scene is taken care of, then the following chapters will be coming out rapidly because I have in mind how everything is going to end!

REVIEW PLZ! (/\ . /\)


	3. Chapter 3

**Senko:** Hello, everyone! Thanks a bunch to all of you who reviewed! I replied to some of you who were logged in! If you didn't receive a reply, well then just know that I'm very happy you reviewed and thankies a bunchies!

**NOTICE:** I just found out that Sasuke's dad is Fugaku and his mom is Mitoko. Special thanks to **Me..** and **sillymail**(no, not me! I mean Me.., a nice reviewer! LoL) for telling me! Gosh this sounds funny lol it's like I'm saying 'special thanks to me for telling me' LoL

* * *

**Responses to Reviews**

**lilmisssushi:** Glad you like meh story! ;D  
**neon kun:** This chapter is definitely longer!  
**Animeforever24:** Sorry! This story will most likely be ItaSaku!  
**Me..:** Will the wishlist expire? Read on to find out! The answer to your question may in found in future chapters! Oh, and thankies a bunchies for the names!  
**Hao'sAnjul:** Sorry if it's confusing lol I'll try my best to un-confuse things!  
**iluvanime493:** Ahaha Itachi didn't pick Sakura himself! Oh, by the way, I had a change of mind. I was originally planning to have Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata also remember everything, but I decided not to have that happen. I just feel that if all four of them are in this "dream" and they know what's going on, Sakura probably won't develop feelings for Itachi. All four would be busy trying to find a way to escape. Also, Sasuke would be watching after Sakura and he would attempt to stop her from developing feelings for Itachi, since he knows what Itachi did. I feel that this type of drama is not necessary in the story...yet. ;)  
**selandora:** You are the first reviewer! Yay! Go you! You rock! LoL  
**starwishes:** The possibilities of this story being SasuIno is very slim. I know it's a cliche for Ino to be with Shika-kun, but if anything chances are that this will be ShikaIno. Maybe I might make it SasuIno, but even if I do I can tell you that no matter what, I need for Sasuke to still have feelings for Sakura. Whether he starts liking her during this "dream" or after the "dream," I need for him to like her, just to add drama ;D

Also, thanks to **blooty**, **Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob...,** **Reiyuka Yukimoto, sachmet, Fionna Mckinnon, Akatsuki Sakura, Noyesgirl,** and **Fear my Fan** for reviewing!

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Me no own…DUH…

**Chapter 3**

"Sakura-chan, are you sure you're okay?" Ino asked for the millionth time. The pairs of eyes that belonged to Shikamaru, Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, Choji, Lee, and TenTen looked her way, mutely questioning her health also.

Sakura sighed. "Yes, I'm okay. And since when did you start calling me Sakura-chan? You always call me forehead girl, Ino-pig!"

"What? Ugh, Sakura-chan, we gave up that crap _way_ back when we were young, remember? We stopped after your, what, fifteenth birthday, when you stopped being one of Sasuke's fangirls!" Ino said.

"I…what?" Sakura was in deep confusion.

Ino embraced one of Sasuke's hand close to her, you know like how couples do? "And then Sasuke-kun finally agreed to date me!"

Sasuke grunted. "We are not dating, Ino. We went _on_ a date. _One_ date. Period."

Ino continued smiling, ignoring Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun actually kisses on the first date! Can you believe that he kissed me! His kiss was filled with so many emotions!"

Sasuke grumbled. "You _told_ me to kiss you, and I gave you a kiss on your cheek."

Meanwhile Ino was still smiling Sakura tried her best to stay calm. This could be a dream, but why is the Uchiha Clan alive? If the Uchiha Clan is alive, then that must only mean that this is due Sasuke's gift to her. If this is due to Sasuke's gift, then that would mean that she was bound to give up on him, and when she gave up on him he went on a date with Ino. Well, this could just be a dream. Maybe she's dreaming that Sasuke's gift did this.

Sakura smiled, looking on the brighter side of this situation. What if this was a chance to forget about Sasuke? In the other world, even if Sasuke was being nicer to her he only thought of her as a friend. She may have given up on him, but there was still a part of her that wanted to keep her open for him, just in case. After he was brought back to Konohagakure, she still hadn't given up on him. After half a year, Ino had a talk with her and she finally concluded one thing: Sasuke is unable to love. He _could_ love, but he just won't be able to love anyone romantically. Not everybody is the same.

When Sasuke was only seven, his entire clan was killed – by his elder brother, Itachi. Since then, Sasuke's first priority was vengeance. Naruto lived to become the Hokage and earn people's respect, and Sasuke lived to revenge his family. After much consideration, she finally realized that love, for Sasuke, would only delay him. Sasuke had enough to deal with, and he didn't need some girl following after him. In a fantasy world, he would turn around and love her and realize that all this time he had feelings for her too. But this isn't a fantasy world – it is reality.

When she gave up on him and stopped annoying him so much, she noticed that he had become friendlier to her. If only she had known from the start that all she had to do was stop annoying him and he would treat her nicer. If only she had known that he always said mean things to her and acted cold towards her because that was the only way to make her stop irritating him so much. If only she had known that he did those stuffs because he isn't able to love her romantically. If she wanted to become his friend, he would become her friend. But he just won't be able to become her boyfriend.

Even after she realized all this she still kept her open, though. She had received countless love letters and was asked out many times, but she rejected all the guys. Perhaps she was only lying to herself that she wanted to just be Sasuke's friend. Perhaps, deep inside, she still wished that he would turn around and love her the way she love him.

Now is her chance.

Now is her chance to get over him.

This isn't the real world. She knows it isn't. So what is there to lose? If this is a just a dream, she has nothing to lose. She could do whatever she wants here and nothing will happen in the real world, right? She smiled. This is her chance.

Oh, screw that. She's engaged to an S-class criminal. What the hell kinda chance is this, the chance of a lifetime to get killed? Yeah. Totally. Woo hoo. She is sooooo ecstatic to be blessed with this rare opportunity. Can you sense her sarcasm? You better.

Sakura forced a smile on her face. "Uhm...so, Ino, when did you and Sasuke-k...uh Sasuke begin dating?"

Sasuke glared. "We are not dating."

Ino beamed. "Since last week!"

"Oh."

"Sakura-chan, I have to say I'm sorry," Naruto apologized out of the blue.

"What?" Sakura looked at Naruto questioningly. Why is he apologizing?

"Uhm...you see," Naruto grinned nervously. "See, I know you told me last week that you are uncomfortable around Itachi because of some reasons, but uh...uhm, ItachiscaresmeandhethreatenedmetheotherdaywhenhecaughtmesneakingaroundhisroomandsoI'mscaredtobenearhimtoprotectyoufromhim."

"Uh...what? Can you say that slower?"

"I said that, uh, Itachi scares me!"

Everyone: -anime sweatdrop-

"W-What! I mean, c'mon, if he caught you sneaking around in his room and he threatened to punish you if he saw you again, you'd be scared too! I sparred with the guy once and it did _not _feel like sparring to me - it was like a fight to the death!"

"Or you are just too weak," Shikamaru stated bluntly. "What were you doing sneaking around in his room, anyway?"

Naruto grinned nervously. "Y-you see, uh...April Fool's Day is coming up and Sasuke-teme and I planned to pull a prank on him. We did rock, paper, scissor and I lost, and so I had to go and look inside Itachi's room to check and plant the trap because Itachi was supposed to be on a mission and he was supposed to be back on April Rool's Day(remember that it's Sakura's bday, which is March 28). But then he came back earlier because he had finished the mission early. Itachi threatened me! I told Sasuke he should do it because he's Itachi's little brother and Itachi wouldn't punish him! I never win at rock, paper, scissor!"

Sasuke glared. "Maybe if you stop using paper all the time, you'd win."

"Paper is the ultimate tool! It's my secret weapon!"

"How is it _secret_ if you use it all the time!"

The group watched the two boys argue. Sakura couldn't help but smile at them. She couldn't help but smile at Sasuke, to be precise. Pranks were never a "Sasuke" thing. She received a warm feeling inside, examining how different Sasuke would be if only Itachi hadn't slaughtered his clan. Her thoughts were interupted shortly, though, by Uchiha Fugaku.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for attending this joyous occassion to celebrate the engagement of my son Itachi to Haruno Sakura," Sakura slightly shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable as she heard about her engagement. "Please, have a nice evening."

With the last sentence said, everyone began to get up from their seats and exit the room. Sakura copied what the rest were doing.

"Sakura-chan, where is your future husband?" Ino asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him," Sakura answered. Wait, why did she that? By answering like that, it's as if...as if she actually _accepts _that Itachi will be her future husband!

Ino hugged Sasuke tightly. "Sasuke-kun, I'm gonna miss you soooo much! I'll see you tomorrow then!" she dashed off and joined up with the rest of her clan.

"Sasuke-k...Sasuke, where is your brother?" Sakura asked once Ino had left.

"I'm right here," a cold voice said from behind her. Sakura immediately whirled around to be met with none other than _the_ Uchiha Itachi. He was taller than she had expected him to be; she only came up to his chin. The difference in height made her feel even more powerless.

"Eh...h-hi," she muttered.

"Nii-san, where were you?" Sasuke asked. "You missed your own engagement party."

"Mission," he answered quickly and then looked over at Sakura. "Is that your girlfriend?"

Sasuke glanced at Sakura and then mentally sweatdropped. "Uh, that's your fiancee, nii-san."

Itachi grabbed Sakura's hand gently and placed a quick kiss on her hand. "Nice to meet you, Haruko Sakumo."

"Uh, that's Haruno Sakura," Sasuke corrected.

Itachi did not reply.

Sakura stood there speechless. Why? First of all, she's terrified because of this almost normal behavior from an S-class criminal. Second, an S-class criminal kissed her hand - eww. Lastly and most importantly, she could _not _believe this rather humorous behaviour of Itachi's. After a while, she finally spoke. "Uhm...uh, nice to meet you too, uhm, Itachi."

Fugaku and Mikoto approached the three. Fugaku smiled, "Itachi, where were you?"

"Mission," he replied.

"Ah, I see," Fugaku said. "So, this is your fiancee, Sakura."

"So I was told."

"Well, we should return home now," Mikoto suggested. "It's really dark. Sakura-san, you may return to your home, unless you prefer to stay with us here at the Uchiha estate. You will not need to stay here until you are officially married to Itachi. I personally feel that you should stay with us, though. We would have so much fun, Sakura-san!"

"I'm sorry, I'd like to return home. The party was wonderful and I had a great time. It was pleasure meeting Itachi," Sakura bowed and then turned to leave. She stopped, though, when Fugaku spoke.

"Itachi, escort your fiancee home," he said.

"Yes, father," Itachi said, and then approaching Sakura. "Let's go, Sakura."

* * *

The walk to Sakura's place was quiet. Normally, Sakura would try to strike a conversation. However, a part of her feared Itachi because she did not know him. To everyone else, she could act regular and smile. But to Itachi, she didn't know how he would respond. Would be ignore her like Sasuke? Heck, she actually hoped he would ignore her. Who knows, he might just make sure that she doesn't see the dawn of life ever again.

"Where are you going?" his voice broke her reverie.

"Uhm, home?" she answered.

"Your home is this way," he said. She examined their positions; they were facing opposite ways. "That way is to your parent's old home. Your parents were killed a year ago, remember?"

She maintained a calm exterior, but inside she was screaming. _My parents are dead! This can't be!_ "Oh...t-that's right. I totally forgot!" she rushed in the opposite direction of where she was and walked alongside Itachi. "Wow, for someone who didn't even know my name, you sure know a lot about me, Itachi."

She regretted saying that. Mentally, she yelled at herself because she shouldn't be talking to him so casually for who knows what the consequences might be?

"I know everything about you."

She couldn't help it. "Yeah, everything but my name."

"The mission exhausted me. I've calmed down now."

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

The rest of the walk resumed in utter silence. Sakura walked a couple steps behind Itachi, allowing him to guide her to her home. He stopped in front of a small house.

"Good night," he said indifferently.

"Good night to you too," Sakura said.

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**Senko:** How's that? Sorry, I made Itachi kinda talkative lol review everyone! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Senko:** Hi hi! Thankies a bunchies to everyone who read and review! You rock!

**Important Facts:** Alright, you should all consider this. Even if Itachi did not kill his family, you all know that he is capable of doing so. Sasuke still looks up to him. Because Sasuke still looks up to him, Sasuke trains hard to compete with Itachi. Thus, this results in Sasuke being just as strong as he is in the "real" world. Even though Itachi did not kill his family, he is still very powerful and is well-known. Orochimaru knows that he is unable to use Itachi since he knows that Itachi either equals or beats him in power and therefore settles for Sasuke. This results in Sasuke still receiving the cursed seal during the Chuunin Exam. Because of this, the Third Hokage still dies and Tsunade becomes the new Hokage. Also, Akatsuki still exists. This means that Naruto is still in danger. Therefore, Jiraiya still takes Naruto, Kakashi trains Sasuke, and Sakura still trains under Tsunade.

**Responses to Reviews**

**lilmisssushi:** OMG! That's so awesome! Keep thinking about my story! xD and thankies for the compliment! I try my best to keep my ideas original ;) it's nice to know that my idea is original!  
**Hao's Anjul:** Wow. I never thought of that much…lol  
**Princess Sakura Haruno, Starwishes,** and **Cursed-melody**: Don't worry! Even if it appears to be SasuIno, I will not make this story SasuIno. And even if I do, it would be at the very end of the story. Why? Simply because…-cough-I need a love triangle to add drama-cough-  
**Noyesgirl:** Heck yeah! There are hardly any ItaSaku ficcies! We must keep making more ItaSaku fics! Lol  
**Allodoxaphobia:** Thank you for informing me ;D I know a problem with the tenses T-T my teacher and a while bunch of people told me lol but I'm working on it!  
**Ninjaxbunny:** I so want a book like that too! That's how I got the idea! xP the idea also came from Fushigi Yuugi!  
**Loaned:** I know that Itachi is weird but it will be explained in this chapter!  
**Heartless Ghost:** Aw thanks! I try my best to remain original!

Also, thanks a bunch to **animemistress419, Serena, sillymail, XUchihaSerenaX, Kunai-to-the-Heart, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob..., Sailor Leo, Sachmet, EnV, rose-in-may, **and **bride-inugami21** for reviewing!

By the way, to **iluvanime493**, I know that I told you that only Sakura would know what is going on but then I changed my mind! I thought that it would be interesting if someone else knew everything! So, in this chapter, I made a certain character also enter the book!

* * *

**Disclaimers:** Do I look like Masashi Kishimoto? If _somehow _you said yes, then obviously the answer is no o.O 

/Talking/ - Inner Sakura

/_Talking_/ - Outer Sakura

* * *

**Chapter 4**

March 28.

Dusk.

Itachi stared at the scenery. It had been so long since he had seen anything so peaceful. He was back at Konoha again, with Kisame in an attempt to capture the Kyuubi. However, those annoying jounins – namely Kakashi – was always guarding the boy with the Kyuubi. He and Kisame had been rather inactive lately and were not in any mood to engage in fighting. Although he knew that he could defeat Kakashi, he felt he didn't want to waste his energy and time; his energy and time were reserved for something more important.

Itachi came across a field of flowers and cherry blossom trees. Memories came rushing at him and he was reminded of the first time he realized just how beautiful Konoha is.

_Flashback_

_An eleven-year-old Itachi walked alongside his mother, Uchiha Mikoto. This day was rather boring. There was no mission and he had nothing to do. He was considering actually fulfilling his promise of training with Sasuke, but Sasuke was still at the academy and hadn't returned home yet. So, with nothing better to do, he decided to accompany his mom to grocery shopping. It's not very gentlemen-like to let a woman carry heavy bags. They were on their way back home._

"_Mikoto-chan!"_

_Itachi and Mitoko turned their heads. It was one of Mikoto's friends, Aiko. _

"_Mikoto-chan, the best clothing store is having a sale right now! And it's only lasting until a couple hours later!" Aiko exclaimed._

_Mikoto gave off a short gasp. "Really! Why didn't I know! Itachi-kun, can you carry the groceries home? I'll be home in a while, okay?"_

_Itachi nodded and Mikoto and Aiko went off._

_Itachi was making his way home when he passed by a beautiful field of flowers and cherry blossom trees. He stopped for a brief moment to take in the beauty. But he also took in something else._

Sob…sniff…sob…

_Normally, Itachi didn't give a damn about people crying. However, he was a shinobi and his job was to protect his village. What if those sobs came from someone who was hurt badly? Curious about who was crying, Itachi walked towards the source of the sounds. He stopped when he reached a small figure with strange pink hair. It was a girl. She leaned against a tree, crying. Itachi approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder. The girl's head shot up quickly, startled. She stared up at his dark eyes. Her eyes were beautiful, a shade of emerald. If he had any emotions similar to regular people, he would almost – _almost! _– feel _slightly_ infatuated with the girl. He knew who she was: his fiancée. His father was talking to him this once and had told him about how he would have to marry this girl who had pink hair and green eyes if by the time she is seventeen he is still single. One time when she was near them, his father had pointed her out to him. He had only seen her from afar, though, and this was his first time actually seeing her up close._

"_What's wrong?" he asked indifferently._

_The girl sniffed. "I…I…t-the girls…they tease my f-forehead and…and Ino-chan i-isn't here."_

"_Ino?"_

"_Y-yeah…she makes them go away…"_

"_What is your name?"_

"_S-Sakura…"_

"_Why aren't you at home?"_

"_My mommy and daddy…-sniff- t-they'll see me cry."_

_He didn't know what to do. If he had known that the girl was simply crying because she was being teased, he wouldn't even have bothered to talk to her. Crying just because people tease you? How pathetic. However, he can't go back in time. Leaving her when he's already talked to her would be wrong. He had to do something before leaving._

"_Your forehead is perfect," he said, picking up a cherry blossom petal. "What is this?"_

"_Uhm…a cherry blossom petal?" she answered unsurely. _

"_What do you think of cherry blossoms?"_

"_They are…uhm…cherry blossoms are pretty…most prettiest flowers ever. It's the perfect flower. "_

"_Do you know why your name is named after these, and why your hair color is just like the color of cherry blossoms?"_

"…_why?"_

"_Because you _are_ a cherry blossom. You are the prettiest and you are perfect. If you are perfect, your forehead is also perfect."_

_She stared for a while and then blink. Then she looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, sir…what is your name?"_

"_I am from the Uchiha clan," he answered. And then he left._

_End Flashback_

That was the only time he talked to her. His fiancée, yes, his fiancée. He had almost forgotten about her, but it didn't matter. He no needs to marry her anymore, nor would he want to. However, there was no denying that he had wondered before how everything would be if he did not kill his clan. She would be…well, if she was seven back then, then she would be seventeen now. If he had not killed his clan, he would be engaged to her right now. He heard rumors that she was training under the fifth Hokage. What was her name again? Ha…Haru…something. Anyway, how would life be if he had not killed his clan and was engaged to her? Would life have been better?

Truth be told, a small, SMALL part of him had regretted killing his clan. He hadn't really regretted killing those like his father and all those people who tried to control him and deprived him of a normal life. But there were also the people who tried to give him a regular life, like his mother for example.

He strolled around the field. Much to his surprise, he noticed pink hair among the pink falling petals. He approached her. It was her. _HER._ His fiancée was resting against a tree. She seemed to be in a deep sleep. Next to her, a couple inches from her hands, laid a small black book with the word 'Wish' written on the front. Curious, he examined the book. There was some stuff written on the back of the book. 'Write a what-if sentence and it shall come true' it said. He flipped open to the front page to see what his would-have-been fiancée could have written.

What if the Uchiha clan hadn't been massacred?

And suddenly, he was enveloped in a bright light.

* * *

"Nice to meet you, Haruko Sakumo," he said, placing a gentle kiss on her hand. 

"Uh, that's Haruno Sakura," Sasuke corrected him.

Great. What had happened? Itachi wasn't sure. Somehow, he was in this realm where his family was still alive. Could that dumb book had been true? Regardless, this was unacceptable. He didn't know what was going on and passed by a girl. He asked the girl what was going on and she said something about his engagement party to Haruko Sakumo. Haruko Sakumo? He could have sworn it was Sakura something. He asked where it was being held and she pointed to her left. He traveled all around the eastern section of the Uchiha clan for what seemed like hours only to find out that the stupid party was actually in the western section. When he arrives, he calls his fiancée Haruko Sakumo only to find out it was actually Haruno Sakura. That totally embarrassed him…who the hell was that stupid girl?

* * *

_"Do you know why your name is named after these, and why your hair color is just like the color of cherry blossoms?"_

_"…why?"_

_"Because you are a cherry blossom. You are the prettiest and you are perfect. If you are perfect, your forehead is also perfect."_

_She stared for a while and then blink. Then she looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, sir…what is your name?"_

_"I am from the Uchiha clan," he answered. And then he left._

The ray of dawn hit gently against her skin. Sakura slowly opened her eyes and greeted the morning and then got up. She hadn't had that dream in a while. It had happened years ago, when she was about seven? Yeah, seven. She was crying and a stranger came up to her and cheered her up. She had asked for his name, but he only said he was from the Uchiha clan and then left quickly. He was the first male to have ever been so kind to her. She had almost fallen in love with him, but she didn't since she didn't even know him. The next day, she went to school and discovered there was a boy in her class named Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha…would this Sasuke boy know anything about that stranger? Sasuke was really cute and powerful. He reminded her much of that generous guy. Then something weird happened the day when she realized that Sasuke reminded her of that guy: she started to like Sasuke. But that was in the past, and the past was a long time ago. She shouldn't pay attention to the past.

Examining her surroundings, she recalled last night's events. Realizing that this was not her "real" bedroom, she could only ponder what she would do about this situation. What would she do? No one knew her, the real her. No one knew the truth. She wasn't in her real world. If everybody were to find out the truth about her, what would they do? Would they accept her and try to find a way to send her back to her world? Would they try to kill her? Would they think she was crazy?

She studied the room. Her regular room was pink.

Pink bed sheets.

Pink pillows.

Pink blankets.

Pink alarm clock.

Pink window curtains.

Yes, she had an obsession with pink. This room seemed slightly more mature. The amount of pinkness was limited and there were more light colors like white, light blue, and lavender. She shook her head gently to brush off these thoughts and focus on something else. How would she act? Her parents were dead, so did everyone expect her to be melancholy and depressed? Or happy, to shield away her pain?

Her parents.

Pain flashed across her face quickly before being dismissed by her. She couldn't believe it. The pain of losing your parents is unbearable, but she reminded herself that this isn't the real world. It isn't the real world. Her parents are actually alive. Right? What if they aren't, though? She shook her head again and got up to wash her face.

Ding Dong

Sakura dashed down the stairs and to the front door. It was Ino.

"Sakura-chan! Sorry, I'm late! I didn't know where you'd be at, so I tried the Uchiha estate but then Mikoto-san said that you came home so I had to come _all_ the way over here!" Ino breathed. "Now, good to see you're all ready! It's time to go to the Spring Festival!"

Ino dragged Sakura out of her house.

* * *

The two girls arrived at the annual Spring Festival, held at the center of Konoha. Everything was as expected to Sakura. It seems that nothing had changed for the festival. The Spring Festival celebrated spring and the also beginning, since spring is the first season. Booths were set up with various activities. Ino and Sakura were soon joined with Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Kiba, Shino, TenTen, Lee, Chouji, and Shikamaru. Sasuke and Itachi had not arrived yet. 

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted loudly, his hands around Hinata's waist. "Looking great, Sakura-chan, but not as great as Hinata-chan!"

Hinata looked down to hide her obvious blush. So, Naruto and Hinata must be going out.

"Hello, everyone," Sakura said, smiling.

Things seemed to be going well. Sakura enjoyed talking to the girls and the boys just kept to themselves.

"Sakura-sama!" someone called, amidst the people. Sakura looked around to see who it was; a girl, about her age, ran up to her. The girl had long black hair tied into two high pigtails held by white ribbons. She wore a black t-shirt and black mini-skirt along with the usual ninja shoes. "Sakura-sama, I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to your engagement party! I was on a mission, along with Itachi-sama, and then we got back late and I was so tired I had to go home and rest!"

"Oh, it's okay…" Sakura said. She was about to call the girl by her name, but she then she was reminded she didn't know the girl's name.

"No! It's not alright! I, Mikki, have made you my idol! It is my job to make sure I train and train and train in order to beat you! And it also my job to make sure I attend every event celebrating you and congratulate you and your success!"

"Uhm…thank you?" Sakura said, questioningly.

"You are very welcome!" Mikki replied, a big grin on her face. "Oh, by the way, how was meeting Itachi? You two never really met, right? It must have been pretty weird to all of a sudden find out that you are engaged to one of Konoha's most powerful shinobi! I heard that your parents only told you two that you're engaged to each other but you couldn't meet each other until the engagement party. Is that true?"

"Yeah, we met at the engagement party. Meeting Itachi…" Sakura's words faded as she tried to find a word for how she felt meeting Itachi. Scared? Awkward? "Meeting Itachi was weird."

"Weird? Oh! I'm so sorry he was weird! You see, the mission that Itachi and this other girl and I were on was an A-rank mission – it was my first time on an A-rank mission! Godaime-sama had made me many potions, odorless and the best, to use on the mission. We were supposed to find these three missing-nins of Konoha who were rumored to have left Konoha together. I had a truth potion with me and we were eating dinner with this guy who we suspected might now the whereabouts of the ninjas. I put the potion into his drink and then I found out I put it in Itachi's drink! Since the potion was odorless and one of the best of the Godaime-sama's, Itachi didn't know and he drank it!"

Everyone stared in complete awe at the Mikki's story.

"So, I apologize for Itachi's weird behavior! For the rest of the mission, Itachi was different – he talked! He actually said more than one word in a sentence! Towards the end of the mission, I realized that when the potion was going to wear off, it makes the person have some memory loss. Itachi didn't know my name at all!"

Sakura laughed nervously. "I see, so, uh, that was the reason why he talked and called me Sakumo."

Then, Sasuke and Itachi showed up. Sakura smiled. "Ohayo, Sasuke, Itachi-kun."

"Hn."

No reply.

/ASSHOLE! Don't ignore me, dammit/ Inner Sakura screamed.

_/Just keep smiling, just keep smiling, just keep smiling, smiling, smiling./ _Outer Sakura chanted to Inner Sakura.

"So, did you guys just get here?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered. Itachi remained stoic and did not reply. It seemed as though he wasn't even listening.

"Sakura-sama, Itachi-sama is alright now. It seems the potion has worn off!" Mikki beamed.

…you mean Itachi is a super-Sasuke? Actually, Itachi _is_ a super-Sasuke. He's an older, -ahem- better-looking, stronger, and quieter version of Sasuke. Talk about family genes.

Suddenly, a jounin approached the group. "There you guys are! I was looking all over the place for you guys! Anyway, Godaime-sama wanted me to tell you guys that she wants to see you at her office asap."

"WHAT!" Naruto and Kiba exclaimed.

"We just got here!" Kiba stated.

"YEAH! We missed the last Spring Festival and now we have to miss this one too?" Naruto argued.

The jounin sighed. "I'm sorry but this is what the Godaime-sama wants."

The jounin left immediately, leaving an angered Kiba and sulking Naruto. "That old hag…" Naruto muttered.

"I-It's alright, Naruto-kun…" Hinata said softly.

* * *

**Senko:** I'm sorry but I have to end the chapter here. I was going to write more, honestly! However, I didn't know what to write and I need YOUR OPINION! 

**_IMPORTANT!_** Alright, so I was stuck and didn't know how to do this. The first idea that came into my mind was to have Tsunade order them to go on a mission. If I did this, then the story would be more drama and romance. However, another idea popped up in my head. This idea was the second idea for a story when I began my fanfic career ;D basically, Tsunade sends the Naruto gang on a cruise and they get shipwrecked and they end up on different sides of the island. For example, Itachi and Sakura would land on the south side of the island while Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke end up on the north side. If I make the Naruto gang go on this vacation, then the story would become drama, humor, and romance. _WHICH IDEA DO YOU WANT MORE?_ If you choose the first one, then chances are I am going to make a separate story with the second one and even have a sequel. If I do make the second one a sequel, I'm probably going to make it ItaSakuGaa. PLEASE HELP SENKO-CHAN! T-T

REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

**Senko:** Hello everyone! First of all, I just wanted to say that I was really considering the first idea over the second one but then I thought that it might be harder to write how Itachi falls for Sakura. In the second idea, though, Itachi would be stuck alone with Sakura and I thought it would be easier that way. Also, the story didn't start really laidback and humorous so I thought I'd use the second idea to get some comedy. From the comedy I'd build up some drama and end all dramatic. Yep.

**Responses to Reviews**

**Heartless Ghost:** There will be NO ItaIno parts. However, I cannot guarantee you that there will be no SasuIno because, well, I dunno….I don't support SasuIno, though! o.O;; But, uh, yeah.

**Iccena:** Thanks so much for you advice!

**lilmisssushi:** REALLY? You think so? Cause I really feel that I'm gonna write the second one as a separate story but I'm not sure since that kinda plot is rather cliché and all.

**neon kun:** It's just great to know you're alive! Thanks for reviewing! ;D

**ninjaxbunny:** I've read Alice 19th and Ceres before! Yu Watase is sooo talented! I've also read a volume of Imadoki! Hm, maybe I should make Sasuke drink one? Hehe

**Hao's Anjul:** Sorry! I'll try harder to make things clearer, ok? I already sent you a message clarifying everything. If you need it clearer, just tell me, k?

Thanks to **sillymail, Blonde Hurricane, animemistress419, lilmisssushi, neon kun, crazy, Trini, Miakoda13, ninjaxbunny, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob...,** and **pen'n'paper** for suporting for the first idea. THE FIRST IDEA HAS WON!

Thanks to **starwishes** and **Iccena** for selecting the second story. I'm really thinking about writing the second one because I want there to be more ItaSaku ficcies lol so yep.

Thanks to **winterflower, BOWLFY, EnV,** and **KatsunoCZ** for reviewing!

**Disclaimer:** Me no own.

**Chapter 5**

"WHAT! NO!"

The deafening scream of a certain blonde boy echoed throughout the room, throughout the tower, and caused the poor birds to immediately fly away.

"This can't be!" Naruto whined.

"Yes, it can be," Tsunade countered. "You all have missions."

"But why! I would love to go on a mission, Tsunade-baachan, but this is too much! I'm going to be missing the Spring Festival and spring celebration week! And since I won the bet, you said you'd throw a Ramen Festival and now I won't even be able to go to my own Ramen Festival!"

Tsunade glowered. "I. Don't. Care. You are going on the mission, PERIOD!"

Both Naruto and Kiba sulked. It was obvious that everyone else, well almost everyone since we know that the two Uchiha brothers prefer missions over festivities, was annoyed.

Tsunade sighed. "I'm sorry, everyone, but since Orochimaru harmed Konoha again last month, we have to work harder so that the other countries won't think that we are weak. Missions are piling up and we've lost even more of our shinobi due to Orochimaru's attack. Anyway, there are two missions. Shino, Chouji, Neji, TenTen, Lee and Shisui ( A/N: Itachi's best friend, remember? He killed him to get the Mangekyou Sharingan) will be on one mission. Shisui isn't here yet, but he'll be here soon. The second mission is Itachi, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Kiba.

Those on the first mission, you are to guard a wealthy lord of the eastern section of the Leaf Country. Apparently, some assassinators are planning to kill him or something. The leader of this group will be Neji. Those on the second mission, I purposely put more shinobi on this mission because this mission is more difficult. Rumor has it that some missing-nins who belong to a group called Akatsuki is lurking around the Sand Country and may be planning an attack on the Kazekage, Gaara. Since Gaara-san lost many of his shinobi in Orochimaru's last attack on us, I am sending some of the most powerful shinobi to help Gaara-san. The leader of this group will be Itachi."

"Godaime-sama, do I really have to go on the second mission? It sounds so troublesome. Plus, Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto are some of the strongest shinobi you have. I'm not needed on that mission," Shikamaru stated.

"Sorry, Shikamaru, you're not getting out of this mission. Neji is capable of being the strategist, spy, and fighter of the first mission, so you are not needed there. Sakura is intelligent like you but she is needed as the medical-nin; she has no time to be thinking up plans while healing. Itachi, too, is intelligent but this mission will surely fail without teamwork."

"Urg, fine," Shikamaru muttered.

"First team, you are excused. Second team, I need you to stay here while I go over some things you need to know about this mission."

Upon this, the first team left the room. The second team remained in silence, awaiting Tsunade's informations.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Alright, the first team's mission is an A-class mission. You guys, however, are on an S-class mission."

"WHAT! ARE YOU SERIOUS, BAA-CHAN!" Naruto screamed in joy. "I'm going on an S-class mission!"

"Yes," Tsunade continued. "This mission is dangerous. To tell the truth, I think that Itachi himself will be able to take on the members of Akatsuki. However, your mission is not just to kill the members – you are also to insure that nothing will happen to Gaara-san. I doubt that Itachi will be able to handle that much."

"Uhm, Tsunade-sama, do you have any information about the members that we might encounter?" Sakura asked.

"Not that much since. I know that one of the members is from the Mist Country and uses this weapon he calls the Samehara –"

It must be Hoshikage Kisame.

"I can take him on! The Mist Country is weak!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded. "Kisame is not to be taken lightly!"

Tsunade's eye widened slightly. "Sakura, how did you know that his name is Kisame?"

"W-What?"

"Only I know of his name. The only Akatsuki member that known to Konohagakure is Kisame, and the only person in Konohagakure who heard about Kisame is me. I barely received information about Kisame this morning. No report in the past has mentioned anything about encountering Kisame, so how do you know his name?"

Sakura was speechless. How was she to answer the question? "Uhm, I, uh…"

"I told her about Kisame," Itachi answered. "I met Kisame on my last mission but I guess I forgot to include it in my report."

"I see," Tsunade replied. "Next time don't forget to include everything, got that?"

"Yes, Godaime-sama," Itachi answered.

Sakura stared in complete disbelief at what had just happened. Had _the _Uchiha Itachi just helped her? But how did he know that she needed help?

"Continuing on," Tsunade continued," his name is Hoshigake Kisame. He should be easily identified. The information I got states that his skin color is blue and that he, like every Akatsuki member, should be wearing a black cloak with red clouds. Like Sakura said, he and no Akatsuki member are to be taken lightly. They are powerful and merciless. You guys are to abandon your forehead protectors while you are in the Sand and you are to act like a regular civilian and identify the Akatsuki members. You have two weeks. During those two weeks, you are to protect Gaara-san if any Akatsuki member attacks. If they don't attack and you see them in the Sand, you are to get rid of them. Everyone got that?"

"Yes, Godaime-sama," everyone said synchronized.

"You don't need nail polish or make-up or hair accessories, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled impatiently as he paced around Sakura's house, waiting for her to finish packing up.

"Well, Tsunade-sama said to act like a regular civilian!" Sakura argued back from inside her room. After five more minutes, which seemed like an hour to Naruto, Sakura finally appeared from her room with all her necessities in a bag.

"Finally! Let's go!"

"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked.

"No, Naruto, we have about six more hours of traveling," Sakura answered.

Two minutes later.

"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked again.

"Uhm…n-no, N-Naruto-kun. We'll be there in a-about six more hours," Hinata answered.

A minute later.

"Man, my feet are beat. Are we there _yet_?" Naruto asked again.

"_NO_," Ino answered. "We have five hours and fifty-seven more minutes of traveling."

Thirty seconds later.

"ARE WE THERE YET?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke glared. "Say that one more time and I can guarantee you won't be able to say that EVER AGAIN."

"Whatever, teme," Naruto asked. "When are we gonna get there?"

Itachi turned and glowered at Naruto.

"…yessir, I won't ask again………." Naruto said, putting his head down to avoid Itachi's glare.

After a long six hour travel, the eight ninjas finally arrived at the Sand Country

"Good evening," Gaara greeted the eight ninjas that had just arrived at his house.

"Yo, Gaara! Watsup!" Naruto grinned.

"Hello to you too, Naruto. All of you will be staying here in my house. Unfortunately, my house has only four rooms left since the other three are for me, Temari, and Kankuro; I did not know that the Godaime would send eight of you. You will all have to share rooms. I apologize for this inconvenience," Gaara said. "Dinner will be served in an hour."

"SASUKE-KUN! Let's share a room!" Ino exclaimed, hugging him from behind.

"Sorry, I'm sharing a room with the dobe," Sasuke said, wriggling out from Ino's embrace.

"EH? We are? Ewww, no way, Sasuke-teme. I wanna share a room with Sakura-chan!" Naruto said.

"Uhm, b-but Naruto-kun…Sakura-chan is, uhm, engaged. D-Don't you think it'd make more sense if, uhm, if Itachi-san and S-Sakura-chan shared a room?" Hinata pointed out.

"Oh, I don't mind if I'm not in a room with Itachi-kun," Sakura smiled. "Don't you think all three of us girls should share a room instead?"

"The bed is too small to fit all three of you," Gaara said.

"Kiba, wanna share a room?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sure."

"Keep the dog away from me when I'm asleep, though. Since it was raised by _you_, we never know if the dog might accidentally have an accident on me during the middle of the night."

"WHAT! What do you mean by that statement!"

"But Sasuke-kun!" Ino whined.

"The dobe and I are sharing a room. Period," Sasuke said.

"I-Ino-chan…it's alright. Let's share a room," Hinata suggested.

"Okay then, Hinata-chan!" Ino beamed.

And then only Sakura and Itachi were left.

"So," Sakura began, "I guess we have a share a room."

"Hn," Itachi replied.

An hour quickly passed by and the eight ninjas were now seated at the dinner table, along with three other people.

"Wow, Temari! This is really good!" Sakura complimented.

Temari laughed mildly. "Thank you."

"Temari, you are so going to make some guy the luckiest guy in the world!" Ino exclaimed as she continued eating.

Temari blushed.

"So Kazekage, what are our plans?" Shikamaru asked.

"Please call me Gaara," Gaara said. "I think that I am capable of defending myself, so tomorrow I'd like for you to disguise yourself as a regular resident and try to find these Akatsuki members."

"Do you know how many are here?" Sasuke asked.

"So far all I know is the one named Kisame is here."

"Alright then," Shikamaru said. "So, I guess tomorrow we'll split up and hang around the city. Kiba and I will be one team. Ino and Hinata will be the other, Naruto and Sasuke will be one, and Sakura and Itachi will be the last one."

"Why can't I go with Ino and Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"That's unexpected. I would expect you to want to spend time with your fiancée."

"Uhm…well, you know how guys are. I'd prefer to hang out with my girlfriends and go shopping or something."

"Sorry, I'm gonna need you to stay with Itachi. Ino and Hinata are capable of defending themselves if they get into any type of trouble."

"But Itachi-kun can defend himself too."

"That's a different story. See, it'd be less suspicious if you were with Itachi. People would simply think that you two are just a harmless couple who are in love. They would think that Ino and Hinata are just two friends who are spending some quality friend time."

"…fine."

Everything seemed to be going wrong today for Sakura. First, she was so happy to be attending the Spring Festival, but then she couldn't since she had to go on a damn mission. As if it wasn't bad enough, she had to go on the same mission as Itachi. Then Itachi had to help her out of some trouble. Next, she had to _share a room_ with Itachi. Now, she has to spend time with him!

"You can take the bed," he said.

"Really? You're not taking the bed?" Sakura asked for clarification.

"No. It is only polite to allow a female to take the bed. I know you probably don't feel comfortable sharing a bed with me yet."

Wow, who knew that Itachi could be such a gentleman? Sakura made note to herself to congratulate Mikoto on what a fine job she did raising her son. Itachi had fixed an area on the floor next to the bed for him to sleep on. Sakura smiled as she looked down on his sleeping figure. For someone who could be an S-class criminal, Itachi was very nice. First walking her home, then helping her out of a troubling situation, and now giving her the bed. She turned off the lamp.

"Night, Itachi-kun," she said, before closing her eyes to sleep.

"What a cute couple you two are!" The middle-aged woman smiled admiringly at Sakura and Itachi. Sakura had her right hand locked around Itachi's left hand as they walked down the street. They had taken into consideration what Shikamaru had said and were pretending to be a couple. Well, they kind of are a couple, right? They're engaged, but they just don't love each other romantically. So far, about a dozen people have commented on them. Many middle-aged women had complimented how cute they looked. Tons of girls had drooled after Itachi and cursed at Sakura and tons of boys had drooled over Sakura and cursed at Itachi.

Ino and Hinata on the other hand had many boys looking at their direction. Ino was very good-looking and Hinata was just plain adorable and cute.

Naruto and Sasuke had many girls looking their way, and so did Kiba and Shikamaru. So maybe Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto didn't receive that many looks – well, at least not many compared to Sasuke. Itachi and Sasuke probably had the most girls looking at them. Practically every girl they passed stopped and stared at them!

Days passed by and no one had had any luck in finding out about Kisame. One day, though, luck was blessed on Sakura and Itachi.

"Itachi-kun, look, it's him." Sakura tugged on his arm and pointed down the street. Itachi looked ahead; it was Kisame. He was walking down the road. "What should we do?'

"Bump into him and start talking to him. I'll show up when the time is correct," Itachi said, separating himself from Sakura.

Complying to Itachi's order, Sakura stepped inside a random shop and awaited for Kisame. As soon as Kisame was nearing, Sakura pretended to run out of the shop and accidentally bump into Kisame. Since Kisame was obviously taller and bigger than her, Sakura fell down.

"Oww…" she muttered, and then quickly got up. "I'm so sorry, sir! Please forgive me!"

"You little wench…" he grumbled. He curled his fingers to form a fist and stroke at her.

Sakura was unsure of what to do, where was Itachi? Was Sakura supposed to dodge the punch, or duck, or fight back? Sakura squint her eyes. Kisame's punch never reached her. Sakura opened her eyes to see Itachi's back in front of her; with a single arm, Itachi was able to stop Kisame's punch.

"I-Itachi-kun," Sakura murmured.

A moment of silence followed as Itachi and Kisame continually glared at one another. Finally, Itachi broke the silence.

"I apologize for my fiancee's actions," he said.

"You are strong," Kisame stated. "Why do you have such a weak fiancée?"

"She specializes in medical jutsu."

"I see. No wonder. What is your name?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

"Uchiha? Ah! That explains your strength."

"Why don't we get acquainted over lunch?"

"Why not?" Kisame grinned widely, slightly creeping out Sakura.

The three entered a restaurant and ordered noodles.

Meanwhile, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke were walking together.

"Man, this sucks! We still didn't find anything!" Naruto complained.

"Be patient, Naruto. Mission's aren't easy," Shikamaru said. "It's almost lunchtime, let's go eat."

And then they entered a restaurant.

"So, what is your name, sir?" Sakura asked, smiling.

"Hoshigake Kisame," he answered. "Hey, Itachi-sama, what is your fiancee's name?"

"Haruno Sakura," Itachi answered.

"Haruno Sakura? I've heard that name somewhere before…" Kisame said, drifting off into his own thoughts. "Wait a minute, did you train under the Hokage of the Leaf?"

"Y-Yes…" Sakura answered. "I trained under her."

"This is amazing. Not only do I meet _the _Uchiha Itachi, rumored to be more powerful than _the_ Orochimaru, but I also meet the most powerful female ninja's apprentice, who is rumored to have skills rivaling her teacher."

"No, Kisame-san, my skills are no where near that of Tsunade-sama's."

"Hn, how cute, Itachi-sama. Your fiancée is very modest."

Sakura put on a smile while eating her noodles. The door opened, and then the rest of her teammates entered the restaurant. As they neared and then passed by to take a table behind the three Sakura purposely spoke a little louder, enough for her teammates to hear.

"So, Kisame-san, what brings you to the Sand?"

"I'm on a mission. How about the two of you, what are you doing in the Sand?"

"We are also on a mission," Itachi answered.

"I see. Well, I should get going. It was nice talking to you, Itachi-sama, Sakura-san," Kisame said, getting up from his chair. "I hope we can talk again some time in the future."

"Have a nice day, Kisame-san!" Sakura beamed.

The rest of the team waited a few minutes after Kisame's departure to join with Itachi and Sakura.

"That's him, right? _RIGHT_? That was _him_, Kisame, right?" Naruto asked quickly.

"Yes, dobe, that was _him_," Sasuke said.

"Idiot," Kiba said. "That was so _him_."

"Itachi-kun, why couldn't we have just killed him?" Sakura asked.

"It's best to be acquainted with him. We might even find additional information on Akatsuki," Itachi answered.

"Oh."

"Alright, so now we know how he looks like. Since Itachi and Sakura are already acquainted with Kisame, the rest of us will back off and focus more on Gaara. We will stay from a distance and observe him, though. Itachi and Sakura, you two will be in charge of trying to get information out of him."

**Senko: **Okay everyone, how's that? Oh yeah, Hao'sAnjul's review has made me aware of the possibility of you guys not understanding what's going on. I'm going to clarify the previous chapter just in case, ok? So, in the previous chapter we find out that Itachi knows that he was engaged to Sakura. After Sakura writes the sentence in the book, she falls asleep next to a cherry blossom tree. Thus she goes into this world. On that same day, at dusk, Itachi passes by and he is curious to see what she wrote. So, he opens the book and he is then absorbed into the book too. This means that so far the two characters who know what is going on are Sakura and Itachi. However, Sakura doesn't know that Itachi also knows what is going on. Itachi, on the other hand, knows that Sakura knows what is going on (and this is why earlier in this chapter he helped her out when Tsunade questioned why she knew Kisame).


	6. Chapter 6

**Senko: **HI! Uhm, I realized something...uhm, like, I kept calling it Leaf and Sand Country and then the other day I was like, "OMFG! It's actually Fire and Wind Country! I'm sooo stupid!" so yeah, sorry! The Itachi and Sakura romance is developing in this chapter!

**Responses to Reviews**

**CHICA DE LA LUNA FATASMA, Trini, lilmisssush**i: Shhhh. There is a reason for that. LoL.  
**grim reaper sakura:** Well, Sakura and Sasukeare the same age and when Itachi killed his clan he was twelve and Sasuke was seven. So, right now Sakura would be seventeen and Itachi would be twenty-two.  
**starwishes **and **Mistress DragonFlame: **You will have to find that out yourself.  
**The Squabbit:** O.O;; EH! You mean to say you got mad because there was no fluff and you started throwing things in french class and you got in trouble? UHHHH, I'm sorry! T-T  
**kAze-RyU: **Sorry. There will most likely not be real romance until later on.  
**neon kun: **HI NEON! Rest assured that Ino and Sasuke will not happen. As much as I can't picture yaoi, I can't picture InoSasu just as much! And I don't write yaoi! ;)

Thanks to **animemistress419, Magical Mystic Path Ways, Baka'sAngel, EnV, Iccena, Hao'sAnjul, Reiyuka Yumikoto, verified confusion, XUchihaSerenaX, KagomeAngel91, Ivory Black aka Torri-chiob..., crazy, Allodoxaphobia, ninjaxbunny, GaaraRules, Curesed-Melody, BWOLFY, Itachi's Poison, sakura-negi, SilverSerpentDragon, ****Sachmet**, and **inuyashaHELP** for reviewing!

* * *

"Qoutes" - dialogue 

_Italics_ - emphasis, thoughts, flashback

* * *

**Disclaimer: **No own. 

**Chapter 6**

Sakura laid down beside a tree. One thing she hated about the Wind Country was the wind, duh. The wind was not friendly, like the gentle breeze of the Fire Country. Then there's the heat issue. Sakura was not very accustomed to such heat. Lastly, there are hardly any cherry blossoms or flowers! The tree she laid beneath was an ugly one with ugly leaves. She missed the beautiful cherry blossoms of Konoha.

Today was the day after the meeting with Kisame. Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto were off. Training, they had told her. The rest of her team were with Gaara. Sakura decided to relax under a tree. She was actually hardly relaxing at all. Thoughts of Kisame and Akatsuki flowed through her mind. What would she do the next time they met Kisame? Why was Kisame so nice? Would they successfully find out information about Akatsuki? Was Kisame only being nice to her because Itachi was there? If Kisame were here right now, would he kill her?

"Sakura," a raspy voice said from behind.

Sakura whirled around. Speak of the devil. It was Kisame.

She forced a smile. "Good afternoon, Kisame-san."

"Your mission is not done yet?"

"No. I assume your's isn't either?"

He laughed. "You assumed correctly."

"Where is Itachi?"

"Training with two other members on our team."

"I see. Well, I just stopped by to say hi. I must go now, so I'll see you."

"Have a nice day, Kisame-san."

And then he left. Soon after he left, Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto appeared.

"Hey! Welcome back," Sakura beamed. "How was training?"

"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. "I punched the bastard!"

"Which one?"

It took a while, but soon the joke sunk in. Naruto bursted into laughter. "Did you hear that! Itachi, your fiancee just called you a bastard!"

Sasuke was emotionless while Itachi was actually in deep thoughts although his exterior was stoic.

_Flashback_

_"How was training?" a ten-year-old Shisui asked._

_Mei (A/N: made-up characters) grinned. "It was great! I punched the bastard!"_

_Shisui glanced over at Itachi and another boy whose name was Ryo. He chuckled. "Which bastard?"_

_End Flashback_

How many years ago was that when he was still best friends with Shisui? Shisui, the only person who dared to make a joke about Itachi. Shisui, the only person who treated Itachi as an equal. Shisui, Itachi's best friend. Shisui, the person Itachi killed to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan. Was it worth it, taking the life of the one person who understood him in order to gain something he is still trying to understand?

"Hey, let's go back. The bastard and I need food," Naruto said.

"Don't call me bastard, dobe," Sasuke muttered.

"Don't call me dobe, bastard," Naruto retorted.

"You started it."

"Well, nothing would have started if you didn't call me dobe."

"You called me bastard."

And the two continued arguing. Itachi and Sakura walked a few steps behind them.

"Itachi-kun?" Sakura waved in front of him.

Itachi blinked, snapping out of his reverie. "What is it?"

"Uh, you seem kinda wierd. Did I offend you earlier with that bastard statement?" Sakura asked innocently.

Inner Sakura: Holy shit, holy crap, holy fuck! What if he's offended! He'll kill us! We'll be no more!

Outer Sakura: SHUT UP! Calm down! You are not helping me! Okay, letsee, uhm, he cannot kill us! This is a different Itachi! If he kills us, uhhhhh...we're dead! But, uh, oh, we're on the same team! He just has to deal with me! And, uhm, OMG WHAT IF HE KILLS US!

"No. I just zoned out for a moment."

"Oh, that's good then. I thought you were offended and was gonna kill me for telling the truth," she joked again.

He didn't reply, but hidden behind his silky, dark strands of hair was a smirk of satisfaction.

* * *

Naruto swallowed the remaining of his sandwich. 

"Slow down," Temari said with disgust at the way Naruto was eating. "I'm not cleaning up if you throw up or something."

Naruto grinned. "Hey, hey. I been thinking, let's just kill Kisame."

"Idiot. They already said we're not killing Kisame because we need information on the Akatsuki!" Ino said.

"Yeah, but aren't we just putting Gaara in danger? We should just ensure his safety by killing the shark!"

"I agree with Naruto," Kiba said. "Our mission is to make sure that Gaara is safe and to get rid of Kisame. It'd be a different mission if we were to gather information on Akatsuki."

Shikamaru sighed. "The reason we decided on gathering information in this mission is to save us the trouble of being sent on another mission after this one. After this mission, there's no doubt that the Godaime will send us on another mission and have us gather data on Akatsuki. Besides, Gaara's strong enough to protect himself."

While the rest continued discussing about this topic, Sakura and Temari, who both were sitting next to each other at the dinner table, were discussing their own topic.

"So, how's life with the one and only Uchiha Itachi?" Temari asked, smirking. "Engaged to one of the world's finest man, how does it feel?"

Sakura nervously laughed. "Life is alright." _I'm terrified._ "And it feels odd to be engaged to him." _Funny how the all the good-looking people are insane and all the ugly ones are sane.

* * *

_

The following day, things seem to be normal. Itachi, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura arrived at an empty field with a few trees. She couldn't understand what was with these guys and training. It was always training, eat, training, sleep. She didn't want to train with them. Why? They were too strong. Sasuke and Itachi with the sharingan and Naruto with his chakra. What was so special about her? They had all the advantages, so fighting them would be pointless. But today Naruto had pleaded and begged her to spar with him because Itachi is too strong for him and "he is too strong for Sasuke." She couldn't resist those damn cute puppy eyes.

"I'll spar with Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed with a wide grin on his face.

Sasuke scoffed. "You're just scared I'll beat you again."

"Nuh-huh, you bastard! I can beat you anyday, anytime, anywhere!"

"Then let's spar right now."

"Fine!" and then Naruto stomped off towards Sasuke.

Itachi and Sakura were left.

"Uh, well, I'll just, uhm, go now since I'm not needed here anymore. See you, Itachi-kun," Sakura smiled, turning around and beginning to walk away.

"Wait."

Sakura stopped. _Damn it._

"Let's spar, Sakura."

_Double damn it._

Sakura turned and faced him. "You should just spar with Sasuke and Naruto."

"No. I want to see how strong you are."

"Alright," Sakura stood facing him. She was only a few feet away from him. After a few seconds of silence, she finally made her move. She lunge towards him, and then reached for a few shurikens and flung it at him. He effortlessly dodged them. She brought her hands together and formed a few signs.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

An additional four duplicates of her were produced. The five Sakuras charged towards Itachi. Upon approaching them, the Sakuras attempted close combat with him, but he quickly disappeared and the Sakuras were met with their own punches. Four 'poofs' appeared and the four extra Sakuras were gone.

"You're weak," Itachi said, appearing behind Sakura. She jumped in surprise but quickly got herself together, gathering her chakra together in her arm and then spinning around to punch him. He immediately dodged, causing Sakura to unintentionally knock down a tree with her punch. Itachi blinked in amazement; he didn't know she had this type of power. He dropped his guard for a second, allowing Sakura to see her opportunity. She curled her fingers to form and fist and swung it at him. He quickly grabbed her wrist and stopped her punch before she hit him.

They stood in that position for a few seconds.

"Oh, my god!"

Itachi let go of her wrist. The two turned towards the voice; it was Temari. Shock and fear flashed on her face.

"I..I...you...you killed a tree!" Temari exclaimed. "Gaara will kill you!"

* * *

"I should you kill you," Gaara said, glaring. 

Sakura stared down at the floor in fear. "S-S-Sorry, Gaara..."

Itachi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Temari were inside Gaara's office. Temari had informed him about Sakura killing one of the few trees they had in Sunagakure. It was obvious that Gaara was trying his best to control his anger.

"It's alright," he said. "Just...don't kill anymore trees. We don't have many trees here."

"Uh...y-y-yes, Gaara," Sakura stuttered.

"Hey, wait! You mean we can't kill trees?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, you can kill trees. You just can't kill the ones in the Wind Country," Gaara replied.

"But I just killed one of them yesterday! So did the bastard!"

Gaara glowered dangerously. "W-What..."

"Eh? Gaara?" Naruto asked.

A perilous and evil chakra emitted from Gaara.

* * *

**Senko: **That's all for now, folks! Please review! 

Oh yeah, I have a new story out! It's ITASAKU: D please read it! It's called "Fate is Inevitable"!


	7. Chapter 7

**Senko:** A reviewer mentioned to me about how long I intend to make the story before Itachi and Sakura fall in love. I'm unsure of it right now, but I can say that chances are the romance will not be that obvious (meaning there won't be a lot of kissing or mushy scenes or making out). Even though I read these types of stories, I personally feel that it's somehow impossible for Itachi or any of the cold-hearted characters to see Sakura and think she's beautiful and then just fall in love with her.

* * *

**ninjaxbunny: **I LOVE YOU AND YOUR REVIEWS! ;)

**Blacksheep18: **Pst. You know what? I really took into consideration your advice. I wasn't sure how I would make this chapter. I knew that I wanted to develop the romance, but I wasn't sure how. And your review inspired me to make this chapter!

**neon kun: **I must fear you because you have my sn T-T you could bother me endlessly! LOL! So here I'm updating ;D heyhey, neon kun, I can spoil my story for you if you ask me ;D

**lilmisssushi: **OMG! I would sooo love to see that pic!

**The Squabbit: **I'm sorry! T-T Plz dun kill meh!

Thanks to **Phantomica, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob..., Iccena, grim reaper sakura, bloodstainedmoon, Mistress DragonFlame, animemistress419, Kunai-to-the-Heart, Sachmet, konohaGiRL, Itachi's Poison, Baka's ANgel, narutofan4ever, EnV, Hao'sAnjul, blackXheart, Jessi, wIcked angel, **and **crazy **for reviewing!

To everyone who laughed about the tree: LOL! It just totally popped in my head, you know? I mean, Gaara's in a desert kind of place, right? And the desert doesn't have that many plants or trees (right? o.O). So, yep.

* * *

Hm...it's March 28 and it's 10:15 P.M. right now...so, it's still Sakura-chan's bday! xD HAPPY BDAY, SAKURA-CHAN!

"Dialogue" - Quotes

_Italics _- emphasis, thoughts, Naruto's imagination

Disclaimer: No own.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Sakura, Itachi, Naruto, and Sasuke barely escaped Gaara's furious wrath. After much restraint from Temari and Kankuro Gaara was able to calm down, although Sakura doubted Gaara would ever forgive them.

A couple days passed by since the tree incident. As usual the Konoha ninja spent their days trying to keep an eye on Kisame, and as usual Sakura had to spend her days by Itachi's side. She had come to realize that Itachi wasn't such a bad person at all. Sure, he doesn't really reply, he seems a bit too mature to joke around with, he's serious, and his immense strength is enough to make another person avoid even talking to him. After spending so many hours with Itachi, she noticed that he was just lonely. Of course she only thought like this because he didn't kill his family in this world, but the point is that either way Itachi was still lonely. No one bothered to talk to him or make small conversation. It seemed to her as though they only thought of him as a tool and thought he had no life aside from training and missions. Now she began to see why he hardly talked at all.

He reminded her too much of her younger self. The only difference was that he was powerful when she was weak and he had no one while she found Ino. As a child Sakura was always picked on because of her "oversized" forehead, but this bullying wouldn't have began in the first place if only Sakura was strong enough to defend herself. She was lonely with no friends to talk to or play with. Just like her, Itachi was alone and didn't really have anyone to talk to or play with. She was isolated because everyone deemed her too weak while he was left alone because everyone deemed him too powerful. Sakura couldn't stand watching Itachi like this, so she set a mini goal for herself: become Itachi's friend. Sakura's mini goal had almost gotten her killed _MANY _times, although she didn't know it.

* * *

"When I was smaller, my grandma gave me a teddy bear that looks exactly like that one!" Sakura beamed, pointing to a teddy bear display at a store. "When I was...hm, how old again? I think six. Yeah, six! My grandma gave me a teddy bear just like that one for my birthday and she said she made it for me because teddy bears are cute and cuddly and I am cute and cuddly just like a teddy bear."

Itachi stood there annoyed. He didn't know why the hell she told him that. He could care less.

* * *

"What do you think? I mean, I always choose pink; I just love pink. But then Ino-pig says that I have too much pink. I have about five pink sweaters, fifteen pink tops, five pink dresses, three pink capris, two pink knee-high skirts, a pink miniskirt, two pink bags, three pink high heels, and the majority of my hair accessories _and _underwear is pink! Should I really begin to buy clothes of more color?" Sakura held up a pink and a blue top.

Itachi stood there annoyed. Why the hell would he care? Why the hell is she talking about her underwear? She should stop saying all this stupid crap that he doesn't care about or else he might kill her. He restrained himself from using his Mangekyou Sharingan on her. And believe me he restrained himself very hard.

* * *

"I mean, don't you think they should make pink kunais and shurikens? It would be so awesome! It's just so boring with dull kunais and shurikens that are always...what is it, gray or dark blue or black? Anyway, if they begin to make weapons in pink or different colors, I'm sure that more people would buy the products. Don't you think so?" Sakura commented, while Itachi and Sakura were in a ninja store that sells weapons.

Itachi stood there annoyed. What the hell? Pink kunais and shurikens? Ew. Why do you need to make weapons in different colors when in the end they would turn to red? This girl sure has the most wierd and bizarre ideas ever. Quite amusing to be honest, but he was still annoyed by her excessive talking.

* * *

"And then Ino kept saying how I should blend in more with the world, ya know? She says my hair is too pink and that nobody has pink hair. She says that ninjas need to be able to move quickly, kill, defend, spy, and blend in with the environment, and that my pink hair does not blend well in the environment and that it could let the enemy find me," Sakura said, while walking down the street with Itachi.

Itachi inwardly sighed and grumbled. This girl...has got to have the most annoying and stupidest and retardest topics _ever_. Is retardest even a word? Oh god, he's been infected with her stupidity. He must end it right here and now before he loses his tremendous and awesome intelligence and power.

* * *

Sakura sighed sadly. "Maybe I really should change my hair. I'm thinking about blonde. Yeah, and while I'm at that maybe I should get some of them contacts that change my eye color. I should get blue eyes and be the next Ino. Better yet, I should get some that's red. Oh! Do you think they have Sharingan-shaped ones? I could get some and then I will fool everyone and then they'll think I have Sharingan!"

Hmm...blonde hair? That would really not suit her at all. It would be just plain wierd to see a blonde Sakura. Sharingan eyes? That's actually a pretty good idea. He could just imagine a blonde Sakura with Sharingan eyes.

Itachi let out a small chuckled at the image. "You _should _dye your hair blonde and get Sharingan eyes."

Sakura stared in disbelief. He answered! _HE ANSWERED! _Yayness for Sakura! "You know what, I should dye my hair dark blue instead. That ways we could see how it'd look like if we somehow have a daughter. Hey! You should dye your hair pink, and then we could see how it'd look like if we somehow have a son!"

Itachi blinked. "...no."

Sakura laughed.

* * *

"Alright, so here's the plan," Sakura whispered to Hinata. "Target Dumbass, aka Naruto, will be at Ninja For Dummies area at the bookstore for two more minutes. Hinata-chan, you will have one hour to overcome your fear and shyness enough to ask Naruto out on a date."

Hinata blushed, staring down at the ground. "Uh...uhm, uhm, I'm s-sorry if I...if I fail..."

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan! You cannot fail. Even if you think you failed, you actually succeeded. I have devised a foolproof plan gauranteed to get you a date with Target Dumbass tonight."

"Uh, uhm, okay..." Hinata said. She inhaled, gathering her almost nonexistent bravery. She and Sakura walked into the Ninja for Dummies section of the bookstore and approached Target Dumbass.

"Hey Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed, holding the book Throwing Shurikens for Dummies in his hands.

"Hey," Hinata and Sakura greeted him. The three stopped and stared at one another for a few minutes. Silence dominated the atmosphere and Sakura could have swore she began to hear the clock's tickings.

Finally Hinata spoke. "Uh...uhm, uhm, N-N-Naruto-kun...uhm...uhm...uhm, t-t-t-t-t-ton-n-night...uhm, uhm, Na-Naruto-kun, uhm..."

"Eh? What is it, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Hinata blushed deeply, looking at the ground and fidgeting with her fingers. "Well, uhm, t-t-tonight...if-if-if uhm...N-Naruto-kun...uhm, if, uhm...uh...I, uh, I just...uhm..."

"Huh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Sakura sighed hopelessly. She then put on her cute and irrestitable smile. "Na-ru-to! Uhm...you see, what she means to say is that Itachi-kun and I are going to be on our first date tonight and...well, it's gonna be a bit awkward. This would be my first date ever and I just thought that maybe if you and Hinata-chan came along I would feel more comfortable."

Naruto's eyes widened in fear. "N-N-No, Sakura-chan! Are you trying to get me killed? Does our friendship mean nothing to you? Do you really want me to die at such a young age? Doesn't my hotness make you want to kill yourself for me?" He faked a sob.

Sakura glared. She just couldn't understand why and how Hinata came to develop feelings for him. Sakura faked an even more hopeless sob than Naruto's. "H-How could you Naruto? I thought that we're friends! How can you say this? This is my very first date! Who knows what could happen...or...or what Itachi-kun could do to me after the date! I mean, after the date we _would _be heading off to our _bed _and I'm going to be looking totally irresistable tonight. He might just...just grab me and kiss me and then rip off my shirt and then take off my-"

Naruto covered his ears and shook his head violently. "NO! NO! NO! Don't say anymore, Sakura-chan! I'll go with you! I'll go on a double date with you and your evil fiancee! He will not touch you at all!"

"Great!" Sakura beamed. "Meet us at the ramen restaurant across the street from here at seven o'clock sharp."

Totally foolproof.

* * *

"Itachi-kun, will you go on a date with me tonight?" Sakura asked.

The two were in their room and Itachi was reading a scroll when Sakura appeared. He glanced at her quickly.

"No."

"What? Aww..." Sakura pouted. "Now I look like such a fool...Naruto was saying how he and Hinata-chan are the better couple and I told him that we were obviously the better couple! What a _blow _to our _pride _as a _couple_..."

No response.

"I mean can't you at least go? You don't have to do anything mushy. Just go so that the _blow _to our _pride _as a _couple _wouldn't hurt so much."

"...fine."

Yep. Totally foolproof.

* * *

Hinata was blushing. _I...I...I'm actually on a date with...with N-Naruto-kun!_

Sakura was eating. _Man, the ramen here is better than Ichiraku's!_

Itachi was uncomfortable. _Is he checking me out? Don't tell me I'm now attracting males too..._

Naruto was giving Itachi a death glare and eyeing his every move. _You shall not touch Sakura-chan!_

"So, Hinata-chan, is your date going well?" Sakura said, after finishing eating.

"Y-Y-Yes, it's going perfect," Hinata blushed even deeper.

_Itachi is such an awful date. I bet he's really coming on this date just to...to...with Sakura-chan---NO! _Naruto screamed inside his head. He glared at Itachi one more time before deciding to show off to Itachi that he, Uzumaki Itachi, is a way much better and respectful man than Itachi. Naruto beamed at Hinata. "Hinata-chan, you are so cute tonight!"

Hinata blushed.

This was unacceptable. Itachi will not lose to someone like _Naruto_. He looked over at Sakura. "Sakura, you look beautiful tonight. More stunning than usual."

"Is that a new perfume, Hinata-chan?"

"Is that a new haircut, Sakura?"

Naruto was glared intensely at Itachi while Itachi showed no signs on any emotions, although it was obvious in his actions that he didn't want to be seen as inferior to Naruto.

"So, uh...Naruto, you and Hinata-chan seems to be getting along well. I think that you two should seriously consider starting a deep relationship," Sakura said, breaking the two men's idiotic fight.

"Yes, you're right, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled at Sakura, and then glared at Itachi. "Hinata-chan and I will have a deep relationship of love, trust, and _respect_."

"Why would you need respect if the other person is weaker? Love is for the weak," Itachi said

_Oh no, he really will do something to Sakura-chan! _Naruto panicked. "Well, in a real relationship, _Itachi_, you have to respect the other person's wishes and desires. Love is not for the weak, it makes someone stronger."

"Love only slows someone down. Ninjas, especially, should not fall in love. Look what love did to Sakura in her genin days."

"What! How did you know that I...I..." Sakura couldn't finish the sentence.

"Kakashi told me about how you developed a crush on my little brother and then fell hopelessly in love with...Shikamaru for about a year."

What! So if Itachi didn't kill his family, she would have ended up falling in love with _Shikamaru_? What would she see in _him_?

"Well," Naruto began, "if you look at it this way, it was because of love that Sakura-chan decided she wanted to be stronger. She wanted to prove to your bastard brother and to Shikamaru that she can be strong."

"That's not love, that's anger."

"But there wouldn't have been any anger if there wasn't love."

"Love doesn't make anger; it made her weak and her weakness made anger."

Sakura decided to break up this pointless fight. "Alright that's enough. Stop this stupid fight. Let's just pay the bill and head back."

"Okay, then," Naruto said, getting up to pay the bill. "It's on me."

In the meantime, while Naruto was paying the bill Hinata, Itachi, and Sakura waited by the exit for him. Itachi noticed something around Sakura's right wrist.

"New bracelet?" he asked.

"Yep! I bought it this afternoon when I passed by the antique shop. The lady said that it will give me good luck! Plus, it's so cute I just couldn't help it! Here, look!" She raised her right wrist to show Itachi.

Itachi gently grasped her right wrist to examine the bracelet. It was a single bracelet consisting of two thin, black plastic straps entertwining each other. A single silver heart hung from the straps.

Meanwhile, Naruto just finished paying the bill. He was walking towards Hinata, Itachi, and Sakura when hesaw Itachi holding Sakura's right wrist. Being the paranoid and caring friend he was, this is how Naruto perceived the situation even though Sakura was the one who held up her wrist to Itachi:

_Itachi had an evil look of lust in his eyes and he had fangs for his teeth and then on his head were two horns and he had black wings and he had a tail and in his right arm he held a gigantic pitchfork. Poor, innocent Sakura-chan was sobbing as the devil Itachi's lefthand reached for Sakura's fragile right wrist and then he jerked Sakura towards him and then he intensely kissed Sakura-chan and then he---_

"NOOOOO! You stay away from Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, approaching Itachi and Sakura.

Itachi and Sakura looked at Naruto.

"Oh! Naruto! I was just showing Itachi-kun my new bracelet!" Sakura beamed, holding her right wrist in front of Naruto's face. "Isn't it cute?"

"What!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. "Sakura-chan, don't try to cover for him! I saw what he did! He jerked your hand and pulled you towards him and then he...he..."

"He what?" Sakura asked, curious to discover whatever the hell Naruto was thinking of. "I was just showing him my new bracelet."

"Oh, uh...well, uh, that's a really pretty bracelet, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's eyes began to form a glare. "What were you _thinking_, huh, Naruto?"

Naruto let out a nervous laughter. "Uh...eheheh..."

"AH! I can't believe I thought that!" Naruto exclaimed for the hundredth time, hitting his head with his palms.

"It...it's okay...N-Naruto-kun. You were just w-worried about Sakura-chan..." Hinata tried to comfort him.

After discovering what Naruto had been thinking, Sakura was fuming and she and Itachi left straight back to Gaara's place. They had left Hinata and Naruto alone.

"AGH! Everything about this date went wrong! Only two things went right! TWO!" Naruto yelled.

"Oh...what, what was that?"

Naruto deeply inhaled and then exhaled. He turned to face Hinata and suddenly all signs of anger and frustration seemed to disappear. "Well...you're my date and you looked really cute."

"Oh...ah..." Hinata stared down at the ground, blushing.

It wasn't long before Naruto and Hinata reached Gaara's place. They stopped before entering Gaara's house.

"Tonight went okay, don't you think? We should go on more dates together, and I am never doing a double date involving Itachi," Naruto shuddered.

Hinata smiled. "Y-Yeah...we...we should do this again."

In a swift motion, Naruto leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheeck. He grinned. "I guess that's three things that went right on this date."

And then he opened the door and entered, leaving a flustered Hinata.

* * *

"Naruto can be so stupid!" Sakura complained to Itachi, once they were in their room. "And he made that big commotion right in the restuarant! Argh! I really don't see what Hinata-chan sees in him! How could he have thought that you were gonna...gonna, like...ARGH!"

Itachi didn't reply. Instead he simply ignored her and quickly changed into something appropriate for sleeping and then flopped down on his sleeping area next to the bed. Sakura was really annoying him, but what he didn't notice was that as time went by he didn't really care that much about how much she talked. He was slowly getting accustomed to hearing her voice, and her voice was slowly, luring him into a trap called love.

* * *

**Senko: **That's all for now, folks! Please review! 


	8. Chapter 8

**Senko:** Sorry that in the last chapter Sakura seems so bleh and all. I had planned for her to do that ;D because I just thought that she wanted to be his friend and he wasn't replying so she needs to do something to first of all grab his attention. I also planned for her choice of topic to change as well, as you can see in this chapter. Also, sorry if the point of views are confusing!

**lilmisssushi:** No problem! I like your reviews! ;D you always say something interesting! And thanks so much, your review is awesome! Glad to know you enjoy my story! My writing seems different? Hmm. I dunno. I get easily inspired xD and oh yeah, I can read your story and give feedback:3

**neon kun:** LOL! Yep, Naruto is being stupid as always but ya gotta love him for it!

**narutofan4ever:** AW! You mean it? He's the best in my story! THX SO MUCH!

**blackXheart:** LMAO! I've had tons of those moments! I read something funny while eating and then I end up almost choking! xD

: Sorry!

**Nekio-chan:** Woah, really? I never thought that last sentence was anything special o.O;; hmmm.

**konohaGiRL:** I don't know. I think she'll most likely fight in the story but not in this chapter! XD

**ninjaxbunny:** -hugglez you- YAY! I adore you too! Hahaha yeah, ya know I think that Ita-kun, being the hot and sexy guy he is, would attract males o.O;; not only is he hot as a guy, but he's got beautiful hair and long lashes...

**theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff:** YES! I have not abandoned that story. In fact, I have chapter one written already. I just haven't posted it. I might have it out next week. But beware, the story's main genre is humor so the characters might seen somewhat OOC.

**starwishes:** AW THANKS!

**The Violent Tomboy:** Glad to know my story is giving a good first impression! Perhaps it might even inspire you to write an ItaSaku ficcie:D we need more and MORE ItaSaku ficcies! Myahahah!

**Sakura's Hope:**HELL NO! o.O;; SAKURA IS NOT GOING TO DYE HER HAIR BLONDE!

**Heartless Ghost** and **AkatsukiSakura:** OMG! Thank you two so much for noticing my amateur error! Who could make such a stupid mistake! o.O;; THANK U SO MUCH! I was able to go over and fix it ;D

Thanks to **Sachmet, animemistress419, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob..., sillymail, inuyashaHELP, Hao'sAnjul, Lady-Azura, SweetAssassin, Itachi's Poison, Iccena, The Squabbit, pilar, hinako89, BWOLFY, 1taCh1's GuRLie,** and **Eliza **for reviewing!

**Chapter 8**

Itachi carefully took into consideration Sakura's new ideas and attempts. She was on yet another one of her talking sprees, but he didn't blame her; his lack of response was the cause of Sakura's endless talking. He didn't know what had gotten in to her. At first it seemed that she feared him and immediately gave up talking to him when he didn't reply. As of a couple days ago, though, she began talking and just wouldn't stop talking. Her conversations were dull, boring and pointless, but now her topics in conversation were changing.

"So it usually takes a couple days for a deep wound to recover but after studying Tsunade-sama's scrolls the other week, I think I might be able to construct an ointment designed to speed up the process of healing," said Sakura.

Itachi and Sakura sat against a tree. Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Ino trained on the empty field while Itachi and Sakura watched. After a good night's rest, Sakura was able to forgive Naruto's assumptions on yesterday's date.

A couple of days ago Sakura had made her mini goal to become Itachi's friend. After a while, she had come to realize that engaging in a conversation with Itachi was quite interesting. He didn't always reply, but he did reply when he felt he wanted to. Unlike Sasuke, he had never told her she was annoying or tried to hurt her feelings in order to avoid her.

Itachi had found that Sakrua could be smart when she wanted to. Her endless ramblings and obsession for pink were very annoying but at the same time quite amusing.

He found it a bit funny. He could have killed her. He could have killed his family. He could have killed them all, but he didn't. He didn't kill them because he wanted to see how different life would be. He didn't kill them...because he knew that one day the pain and guilt of destroying the people you cared about would come back to haunt you. And when that happens, you would wish you could go back in time and kill only those you wanted to die. But you can't go back because you can't fix or undo this mess you already made upon yourself. It was like a web, and Itachi was the prey.

He inwardly smirked. It was also a bit funny how fate was being such a bitch. He was never one to believe in fate or destiny. Why, you ask? Simply because fate controlled life and death, and Itachi was also capable of controlling such things.

He thought about the afternoon of the previous day, when he was training alone.

_Flashback_

_Itachi hurled one last shuriken at the tree, his shurikens now formed a straight line down the tree. That was when he sensed an all too familiar chakra behind him._

_"Come out, Kisame," he said, not bothering to turn around._

_Kisame's chuckle was heard, and Itachi could sense Kisame stepping out of the tree that was situated a good distance away from him. When he knew Kisame was about ten feet away from him, he turned to face Kisame._

_"What is it?" Itachi asked bluntly._

_"I have a proposal for you," he said, "and maybe that cute fiancee of yours too."_

_Itachi did not reply, but instead waited for Kisame's proposal._

_"Would you like to join Akatsuki?"_

_Itachi smirked. "I knew there was a reason for your abnormally overfriendly behavior."_

_"Intelligent as always," Kisame remarked. "Precisely why you would make a fine addition to Akatsuki, that and your impressive strength and abilities."_

_Itachi remained silent, listening attentively._

_Kisame grinned, displaying his sharp teeth. "Akatsuki is composed of only the strongest ninjas. You belong with Akatsuki, Itachi, not a weak village filled with lovey-dovey and sympathetic ninjas. We are the real ninjas, and only with us can you achieve true power. To be a part of Akatsuki you must test your capacities."_

_"Test my capacity?"_

_"Yes. Kill your clan."_

_End Flashback_

The same scene occurred when he was twelve, except that Kisame did not mention anything about a fiancee since he didn't have one back then. It was funny; it seemed as though he was fated to kill his family and to be alone.

"Itachi-kun! Hello!" Sakura's voice broke his stream of conciousness.

Itachi looked at her.

"Your hand is bleeding!" she exclaimed, a worried look on her face.

He glanced at his hands. He had almost forgotten all about it. Yesterday Gaara sparred with him and, well, let's just say that Gaara decided to avenge the innocent trees. The wound must have reopened.

"Ah, I forgot," he said, holding up his right hand and examining it.

Sakura took his hand in her own, "Here." Her fingers formed a few seals and a greenish chakra encircled Itachi's wound. In a matter of moments his hand was good as new.

He was impressed with her medical skills. He knew how to heal, but he only knew the basics and he wasn't perfect at healing. It took much work and he was more focused on destroying rather than saving.

Sakura smiled gently in relief when Itachi was well again, and it somehow made him wonder if she really was this generous. Sakura leaned against the tree and stared up at the puffy clouds and vast cerulean sky, smiling. "Do you believe in fate?"

"No."

"Same here! It's nice to know that someone else sees things my way, too. Ino-pig and Hinata-chan both believe that everything is planned out and that who we are and what we do were predetermined, but I believe that who we are and what we accomplish are influenced by our abilities rather than destiny."

He looked at her, astound by the way she constructed her choice of words. The words that she alone spoke within less than five minutes were the words he sought to hear his whole life.

"You were born strong, Itachi," Fugaku had told him countless times. "It was fated that you were to be strong and it was fated for you to be born into a strong clan as well."

"Just as I think we were fated to become friends," Shisui once said, "I think that you were fated to be born into the head of the clan to show the world the full strength of the Uchiha Clan."

There was only one other person he knew aside from Sakura and himself that did not believe in fate: Uchiha Mikoto.

"When they fall in love, many girls think that they were fated to be with that special someone of their's," Mikoto said. "Your father may be my special someone, but I don't think we were fated; I just think that I was very fortunate to have found him."

Sakura's knees were in contact with her chest. Slowly she placed her hands on her knees and rested her head on her hands. Her head faced Itachi and she smiled gently. Somehow Itachi didn't see a medic-nin staring back. He didn't his younger brother's teammate staring back. He didn't see a kunoichi, one that would never match his stength, staring back.

Instead he saw a beautiful angel, and small feeling inside him made him feel slightly unworthy of her illustriousness.

"HEY! EVERYONE!" a voice called out. Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, Hinata, Itachi, and Sakura turned to see Kankuro running towards them. He stopped once he approached them, panting and wheezing. "G-Gaara...he's under attack! W-Where's Kiba! Kiba isn't found anywhere!"

Everyone exchanged glances.

"I'll go find him," Itachi volunteered.

The group of seven rushed towards the Kazekage's tower. The Kazekage's room was a complete mess and there were few traces of blood. Time seemed to stand still between Gaara, whose arm was bleeding and stood near the window facing Kisame, and Kisame, who stood in the middle of the room facing Gaara. They were relieved to discover that they were not too late; although Shikamaru was injured, he wasn't hurt to the brink of death. Temari was unconcious, bleeding. Sakura and Hinatarushed over to team, examining the wounds. She then brought her hands together to form seals and then focused her chakra and healedShikamaru's wounds. Hinata formed some seals and began to heal Temari.

Meanwhile, Naruto lunged towards Kisame, creating a few additional bunshins which all attempted to ambush Kisame. Kisame instantly disappeared, causing the duplicates to crash into each other and vanish in smoke. The real Naruto got up, grunting. Ino threw a kunai, but Kisame easily deflected it. Sasuke charged towards Kisame with a punch. Kisame caught his punch but Sasuke swiftly launched a kick at Kisame's abdomen. Kisame didn't see it, and so Sasuke's kick sent Kisame flying and smashing again the wall.

Sakura took this chance to sprint towards Gaara, who had now fallen down to his knees. After inspecting the wound, she quickly began to heal him.

Kisame, amidst his fighting with Sasuke and Naruto, from the corner of his eye, noticed the now recovering Gaara. He growled in anger; he had used much effort to harm Gaara. Ignoring his two opponents, he immediately drew his Samehara and race towards Sakura. Sakura, upon feeling a presence behind her, jerked around to see the figure of Kisame hover over her. In the blink of a eye, Kisame swung his sword. Sakura dodged, but the sword slashed her right arm.

Itachi and Kiba stared at the scene that had just occurred. Itachi finally found Kiba and the scrambled to the Kazekage's tower. He remained stoic on the outside, but his inside screamed as he saw the Samehara gouge Sakura's right arm. Kisame, realizing Itachi, turned around and the two's gaze met for a couple seconds.

Itachi closed his eyes.

Kisame really shouldn't have done that. He really shouldn't have hurt Sakura. Itachi had originally planned to enjoy the fight, but it seems he lost his intentions.

He opened his eyes.

And then Kisame fell unconscious.

TBC

**Senko:** Well, whaddya think? Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Senko:** PLZ READ BELOW.

**Note Number 1:** I think that the only person who was able to figure out what happened in the last chapter was Hao'sAnjul. The reason why Kisame attacked was because Itachi didn't agree to join Akatsuki. But oh well, I guess depending on how I feel I might include a scene of it just for you people who didn't read this note lol

**Note Number 2:** Some of you asked why Sakura didn't fight back and the answer is that she was still healing Gaara. If you read carefully, I made sure to write that "…she quickly began to heal him" and "…the now recovering Gaara." I never mentioned anywhere that Sakura finished healing him. Therefore, in the process of healing Gaara (who is very weak at the moment), Kisame quickly comes at Sakura and when she finally notices his presence, he is already behind her.

**Note Number 3:** Someone asked where Itachi was. You can find the answer when Kankuro approached the group. He said that Gaara was under attack and he said that Kiba is nowhere to be found. Itachi volunteers to go find Kiba. When Itachi returns with Kiba and they go to the Kazekage's Tower, they are greeted with an unforgettable (or at least to Itachi) scene where Kisame slashes Sakura.

**Response to Reviews**

You guys have made Senko-chan so happy! Senko-chan now has 200 reviews! Meh so happy-happy! Happy Day! And you know what…since Senko-chan is so happy, she made a new ItaSaku story! The ItaSakuGaa shipwreck story's first chapter is written but I'm not sure if I should post it because it has major OOC-ness and weirdness. But I also have another story out that is ItaSaku and I will be giving a preview of it at the end of this chapter. Tell me if I should post it!

**Chrys:** -points to note number 1- D  
**Lilmisssushi:** I still vote for NejiSaku because is are soooo many good SasuSaku stories out there and NejiSaku needs more wonderful stories ;) and yes, you finally know Kisame's intentions! Hehe  
**konohaGiRL:** Aw thanks! Well, what Mikoto said was just something I felt when I first fell in love. Before that, I always felt that every girl had her special someone in the world and one day we'll meet that special someone. But then later on I came to notice that wouldn't thinking like that be like taking things for granted? ;D yepyep.  
**Neon kun:** I'm hooked on your stories too! o.O;; especially "Coexistence" so you better update that story I'll really flood your YM too! Myahahaha!  
**Mistress DragonFlame:** Hm you have a point o.O;; I'll try not to jump around too much, okay? xD thankies for telling me!  
**Chie:** Wait, I'm kinda confused with your review. I dunno if you're talking about chapter 8 or if you're talking about how Itachi got into the book o.O;;  
**Kat:** Sorry for the errors! You were right about the Sakura and Hinata thing and Shikamaru; I dunno what was wrong with me, I must have missed that typo. About the Sakura thing, read note 2 up there. Also, Sakura doesn't get suspicious about Itachi helping her because she believes that it would be how Itachi is if he didn't kill his family. She thinks that he would just be nice enough to help her. I don't think that Sakura knows how the MS is gained (yet) because there is no scene in the manga or anime where she finds out how it is obtained. To be honest, I typed down some more stuff for your reply but I deleted it…because I kinda spoiled some things lol  
**Starwishes:** You are correct! Both Itachi and Sakura have their bodies from the real world!  
**blackXheart:** Yes, Kisame's sword sucks chakra (v.v)  
**The Squabbit:** I agree with you! But my evil best friend doesn't T-T she says: "Of course you can't find guys like Itachi, he's not real!" –cries-  
**Ninjaxbunny:** I know that story! But omg you can't be serious! I love that story! That story is so out of my league, it's so good! My story can never be as good as or better than that story TT-TT  
**Sachmet:** Shh….yes, she will…hehe

Thanks to **The Violent Tomboy **for telling me my mistake about the Kazekage's Tower. I'm not sure if someone else told me about that mistake too, but if you are reading this and you told me about it and I didn't give thanks to you, plz tell me.

Thanks to **Noyesgirl, bloodstainedmoon, sendoh11, Iccena, Midnight-Miko66, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob…, SweetAssassin, Fallen Angel, inuyashaHELP, monkeyn3rdZ, BWOLFY, w1cked angel, Rhonda21, Itachi's Poison, animemistress419, Baka'sAngel, Sylvok, Sakura'sHope, hinako89, theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff, sillymail, Hearltess Ghost, Kunai-to-the-Heart, KaylaChiSugano **and **xxxILoveFyexxx** for reviewing!

**Disclaimer:** No own.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"Sakura, are you sure you're okay?" Shikamaru asked.

"M-Maybe we should stop and rest," Hinata suggested.

"I'm fine," Sakura forced a weak smile.

The group was now on their way back to Konoha. No one knew how Itachi did it, but Kisame just suddenly fell unconscious. They took their chance and tied a charka rope around him, limiting his movements just in case he woke up. Itachi estimated for Kisame to be out cold for about three days, so the group decided to leave shortly after ensuring that Gaara was well. Gaara decided that as his way of thanking them he would accompany them and use his sand to carry Kisame to Konoha; since Kisame was knocked out, he is unable to move and he is much too heavy for the others to carry all the way back to Konoha. Kankuro and Temari substituted for Gaara.

From the corner of his eye, Itachi could see Sakura struggling to move. It had been about seven or eight hours since the assault on Gaara and ever since then they had been walking. Fortunately for Gaara, since he had a demon inside him, he was able to recover much more quickly than Sakura. But Sakura used up her chakra to heal Gaara and to construct a chakra rope to bind Kisame. In addition to that, Kisame's Samehara took even more of her chakra. She was lingering behind the group, although striving to not show her exhaustion.

Itachi, who as walking near the front of the group, slowed down his pace until he was walking side by side Sakura.

"Are you okay?" he asked, emotionless as ever yet with a diminutive amount of worry.

She turned to him and again faked a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine."

"Well, I'll still make it. There's only about a couple hours more until we reach Konohagakure."

"I can carry you."

She blinked, shocked for a second. "That's okay, Itachi-kun. There's no need for that."

"You could faint."

"I still have energy left to make it home."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds until Itachi decided to leave her and picked up his pace again. Sakura continued to stare down at the ground and walk, fatigue slowly washing over her. Itachi made his way to Sasuke and walked side by side him for a second.

"Go carry Sakura," he said, before leaving Sasuke behind.

Sasuke looked back to see a tired Sakura slowly walking behind the group. He stopped and waited until Sakura reached him.

"You're in no condition to walk," he said.

She glanced at him quickly before returning to look at the sandy ground. "I can make it."

He inwardly sighed at her stubbornness before grabbing her wrist and stopping her in her track. He swiftly pulled her to him and quickly placed an arm under her knees and one around her back and brought her up to his chest. Sakura blushed at the closeness to Sasuke.

"S-S-Sasuke, I can walk," she muttered.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

"What…uh, I…"

"Go sleep already."

"What –"

"Go sleep."

"But –"

"I said _go sleep_."

"Fine…" she murmured and soon drifted off into a deep slumber.

(Senko: HA! You thought I was gonna make Itachi carry her, HUH? Didn't you! - evil laughter -)

After a couple more hours of walking the group finally arrived back at Konohagakure around midnight. Gaara went straight to the Hokage's Tower to find out where he was to put Kisame's body. The rest were left in the center of Konoha.

"Well, goodnight," Naruto yawned. "Man, I'm so tired I could sleep for years." He left.

Hinata giggled at Naruto's exaggerated statement. "Goodnight, everyone. I should get back to my place now." She waved and left the group.

One by one everyone departed until the only ones left were Sasuke, Itachi, and Sakura. Sasuke, still carrying the sleeping Sakura in his arms, handed her to Itachi. Itachi took her, not knowing why his brother did that.

"I don't know where she lives. I haven't visited her since her parents passed away," Sasuke said, leaving the couple.

Itachi turned in the opposite direction of his brother and headed for Sakura's place. He was amazed at her weight; she was a lot lighter than she looked, and she already looked skinny. He wondered if she was one of those girls who tortured themselves with diets and makeup struggling to look perfect. It wasn't a very long walk to Sakura's place, but during that time he wondered about many things and realized that he didn't know much about her. Who were her parents and did they also die in the real world, or were they dead only in this world? He heard from his father on his engagement day that although not very many of the residents of Konoha knew, her parents died and she lived alone. Speaking of family, was her hair naturally pink? Indeed, she was the first person he'd ever met that had pink hair…and emerald eyes.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he felt her stir in his arms.

"Sasuke-kun…" she muttered, and then returning to her dreams.

A small portion of him felt pity for the girl. Since entering the book, he had heard her refer to his younger brother as simply "Sasuke," but now he had just discovered that deep down she still wished to call him "Sasuke-kun" instead. He had thought that after all these years and after all the pain his younger brother put her through she would be angry or at least had given up on his younger brother. It seemed to him that she was using him as either a replacement for Sasuke, a source to forget Sasuke, or a reason to get closer to Sasuke.

He slightly frowned for a second. He wouldn't allow for any of those reasons to happen.

He had finally reached Sakura's place. Turning the doorknob, he realized that the door was locked. He set her down on a chair beside her door on the porch and took her bag, which was strapped to her waist. Reaching inside the bag, he searched around for the key but couldn't find it. Finally, he decided to just wake up Sakura. He shook her gently, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"I..tachi-kun?" she said softly, still tired.

"Your door is locked and I can't find the keys."

"Oh, sorry," she yawned and got up from the chair. She walked to the door and then placed her hand over the doorknob, channeling her chakra to it. The door unlocked and opened.

Itachi stared impressed with her method of locking her door. He had never thought of doing such a thing. After all, he never really did have to lock his door in order to disable people from entering; a single glare or threat and he would be left alone.

"Wanna come in?" she asked.

"No, you're tired. I'll let you rest," he said, turning around to leave. But he was stopped.

Sakura tugged on his shirt. "Would you like to spend the night here, Itachi-kun?"

He turned around to be met with Sakura's smiling face, although half-asleep. Uncertainty filled him inside and he questioned why she would ask him to spend the night. Oh, that's right – he's not an S-class criminal in this world.

"Come on, spend the night with your fiancée," she pulled him in and shut the door close.

* * *

Sakura's jade orbs greeted the world. She was lying on something dark. Funny, she didn't remember her bed sheets being black. Realization struck her and she immediately bolted up from her position. She was lying not on top of black bed sheets, but on top of a sleeping Itachi who was dressed in black. Sakura watched as Itachi opened his eyes. She got off of him and sat up straight next to him as he lifted himself up from his place.

"Uh…g-good morning," she said, blushing.

He looked around. "What time is it?"

Sakura glanced at her clock on the wall and panicked. "Oh, my god! It's past noon! I have to go see Tsunade-shishou!"

The two got up and hastily got ready to go see the Hokage. At the end of every mission, the ninjas were supposed to report back to the Hokage. Since they knew they were going to arrive late, they agreed to go to the Hokage's Tower at noon sharp and give their report on the mission, but Sakura and Itachi overslept. Sakura and Itachi were now walking together to the Hokage's Tower. Sakura glanced at Itachi before blushing and turning away.

"Um…nothing happened, right?" she asked.

"Nothing happened," he assured her.

She sighed in relief to herself. The events of the previous day suddenly occurred to her and she wondered how Itachi defeated Kisame. "Hey, what did you do to make Kisame faint? Are you really that powerful?"

"It's the Mangekyou Sharingan," he answered.

"Mangekyou?" her eyes blinked in amazement. "There are types of Sharingan?"

"There's the Sharingan and the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Which one does Sasuke have?"

"Just the Sharingan."

"Is there a limit to how many people can have it?"

"No."

"What's the difference between the two?"

"You can use the Mangekyou Sharingan to generate powerful genjutsu."

"Oh. So how did you defeat Kisame?"

"I used Tsukiyomi on him."

"Tsukiyomi?"

"I trap him in a genjutsu were I harm him continually for about seventy-two hours, but in reality only a second has passed by."

"Wow…that's amazing."

The two finally reached the Hokage's Tower and made their way up to Tsunade's office. Upon entering, they realized that Sasuke and Naruto were there talking to Tsunade.

Tsunade growled in anger. "I keep telling you, I don't want you to die."

"I can't die! I won't die!" Naruto retorted. "Just gimme the mission!"

Tsunade sighed hopefully and decided to forget Naruto, turning her attention to the two new arrivals. "Good afternoon, you two. Your team came and gave me the report on your mission about…oh, only _two hours ago_."

"Nii-san, you didn't come back last night. Where were you?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura's place."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You mean to say…you slept over at Sakura's place? And the two of you…overslept?

Naruto gasped. "S-S-Sakura-chan! I'm so sorry! I…I shouldn't have left him alone with you! Just tell me what that bastard did and I'll kill him for you!"

Sakura fumed, embarrassed at what Tsunade said. "TSUNADE-SHISHOU!"

Tsunade folded her arms, getting into a thinking pose. "Well, you can't expect me to think nothing happened, can you? One guy and one girl together in one house and the next day both of them wake up late. I know the two of you are engaged, but don't you think it's too early for this? I mean –"

And then the guys looked on horrified as random items flew across the room.

Sakura finally calmed down and smiled innocently at Naruto, Itachi, and Sasuke. The three were outside the Hokage's Tower. "I'm so sorry about my small act of rage earlier."

The same words flowed through each of their minds. _'Small? Right…'_

"It's okay, Sakura-chan! Well, since Tsunade-obaa-chan won't give me the mission I guess I'll just be going now. I have a date with Hinata-chan at Ichiraku!" he grinned, and dashed off in joy.

"Sakura, kaa-san told me to tell you that she'd like for you to move into the Uchiha estate by tomorrow. She said that it's not safe for a girl to live alone and that it'd be safer if you move in with us," Sasuke said.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. Nii-san, me, Naruto, and Kakashi will come over to help transfer your stuff. You should start packing now," he said.

"Oh…uh, okay, sure," she said, trying to register what was going on.

* * *

**Senko:** That's all for now! Below is a preview for my new ItaSaku story (tell me if you like it, OK?)!

**New Story("The Other Uchiha") Preview:**

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" Tsunade raged.

Sakura squint her eyes at the dangerous chakra emitting from Tsunade. She stuttered fear, "I-I-I said that…I'm sorry, I took the wrong potion and now…uhm, Uchiha Itachi is back to his twelve-year-old self…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Senko:** Shisui will be making his first appearance in this chapter. Do not question me on his behavior and traits because I do not know how he acts. I don't know what kind of possible friendship he and Itachi could have had. However, I will portray their friendship as something similar to that of Naruto and Sasuke's.

**_IIMPORTANT NOTE: _**I edited the previous chapter. Blonde Hurricane informed me that if Sasuke achieved the Mangekyou Sharingan, he would be the THIRD user. There is no limitation as to how many people can acquire it. Also, I changed Itachi's Tsukiyomi's "one second" to "one minute" because Iccena told me it's actually a minute ;)

**Responses to Reviews**

**Hao'sAnjul:** Actually, it's not really the past D: see, the book just transfers Sakura and Itachi to a realm where Itachi hadn't killed the clan yet. And also as I mentioned in one of my notes (I think in chapter 4), Orochimaru would have wanted Itachi's body but he would know that Itachi is too strong. He would then move to Sasuke, thus still resulting in the events of the chuunin exam and the death of the third Hokage ;D **mksanime:** That's for me to know, and you to find out later ;D **Mistress DragonFlame: **In my head, the picture of him carrying her like that just popped up…but you know, you have such a great point o.O;; gosh, what is with me lol I need to use my common sense (if I have any, that is lol)**The Squabbit:** Yeah T-T when I become president, I am going to make a machine that will make hot anime bishies like Itachi come to life…but I'm gonna make so he doesn't go around killing people o.O or me lol**SweetAssassin:** READ! Hehe :3 **Iccena:** Really? O.O I'll trust you since I don't trust myself lol **Baka'sAngel **and **inuuyashaHELP:** o.O;; he's not turning twelve. That was the preview for my NEW story "The Other Uchiha" lol and for Baka'sAngel, in this story Sakura is 17 and Itachi is 22 and in my other story Sakura is 14 and Itachi is - ahem – 12 (v.v) **hatakevee90:** That is for me to know and you to find out lol**theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff:** Sorry bout that!**KagomeAngel91:** Senko-sama? – feels so honored and special – **Lilmisssushi:** Yeah, yeah, Itachi-kun is definitely the sexier Uchiha hehe and omg I wish I could wake up lying on top of Itachi xD uhm…like you said, preferably alive o.O;; oh, good luck to you and take care too! You must live to not only read my story but MAKE YOUR OWN WONDERFUL STORY!**Neon kun:** I didn't think you were serious about bothering me on YM xD lol anyway, I've got your SasuSaku oneshot! Dedicated to – drumrolls – YOU! – throws confetti – **Sharinganmistress:** -gasps- OMG…you are so cool! Thank you so much! Here! –gives you BRE- Here's the Best Reviewer Ever reward! Oh, did you know when I typed the BRE award I accidentally typed the "BRA" award and I was like "WTH" LMAO **hc727: **Maybe :D **XTakaX27:** Maybe she does know, but I think that she does. In the episodes before Sasuke betrays the Leaf, I don't recall him or anyone telling her anything about the Mangekyou Sharingan. Also, she is never present when the Mangekyou Sharingan is used, like around episode 80 when Itachi appeared. **Ninjaxbunny:** I did, so hand over the cookies now! D:

Thanks to **bloodstained demon, BWOLFY, blackXheart, Heartless Ghost, Boyesgirl, wynter89, animemistress419, Rhonda21, hinako89, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob…, starwishes, Mica-Sakura-Choice-Akaichok…, sillymail, EnV, sendoh11, Reiyuka Yumikoto, pilar-ayesha, .Homicidal.Psychotic.Insane…, The Violent Tomboy, Sakura's hope, Itachi's Poison, Itachi's-Gurl41, Sylvok, sAyUrI-aNbU,** and **psychochild22** for reviewing!

**Disclaimer:** No own. Duh.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"Is this all, Sakura?" Kakashi asked with exhaustion clear in his voice.

Sakura smiled. "Yeah, thanks a lot for helping out, Kakashi-sensei."

"Don't call me sensei anymore," he said. "You're no longer my student."

"Yeah, I guess. Well, it's getting late. I'll see you sometime, Kakashi-san," she said.

"Yeah," he said, and then leaving in a puff of smoke.

She spent the whole yesterday packing up her belongings. Today, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi had gone to her place and helped deliver her stuff to her new residence: the Uchiha Estate. She took one last look at her house before closing the door and leaving.

* * *

"Wait, what did you just say?" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief.

Mikoto smiled. "I said this is your room."

"But this is his room, too," she said, pointing to Itachi, who was sitting on what she thought was _her_ bed.

"We only have three rooms: one for me and Fugaku-kun, one for Sasuke-kun, and one for Itachi-kun. Didn't they tell you?"

"No, they did not."

"Well, I'm very sorry but you've already brought all your stuff here. I understand if you feel uncomfortable about this, but look at it this way – you'll have to sleep in the same bed with him sooner or later."

Sakura sulked.

"I'm very, very sorry, Sakura-san," Mikoto frowned apologetically.

Sakura couldn't help but smile in return. "It's alright, Mikoto-san. You do have a point."

Mikoto smiled. "Well, I'll be going now. Itachi-kun, help Sakura-san unpack her things."

"Hai," he replied.

When Mikoto left, Sakura and Itachi unpacked Sakura's things. Upon unpacking her things, Itachi stared for a long moment. Sakura noticed this.

"What is it?"

He continued to stare. "Pink…everywhere…"

Sakura let out a small nervous laughter. All of her things were pink, and she couldn't blame Itachi for feeling that way. Her pink shirts, pink skirts, pink sweaters, pink hair clips, pink socks, pink sandals, pink accessories, and yes, pink undergarments were everywhere. After unpacking, the two were silent, both feeling awkward at having to stay and sleep together in the same room. When they finished, Sakura grew uncomfortable of the silence and left the room to explore the house.

"I'm going to look around," she said before leaving.

Sakura wandered throughout the halls of the main Uchiha house. The house was large, much bigger than hers. Carefully, she made note of which room lied behind what door. She passed by a room, but stopped and entered it when she realized that Mikoto was there; it was the kitchen. Mikoto, sensing Sakura's presence, turned around and smiled.

"Hey, Sakura-san," she greeted. "You're all done unpacking?"

"Yeah," Sakura said. "Are you cooking? I can help."

Mikoto giggled. "Sure! Can you make rice?"

"Yes, I can," Sakura answered.

Mikoto beamed widely. "This is so fun! Now, there's another girl in the house who can help me cook! Don't tell Sasuke-kun because he'll be very embarrassed, but he cannot cook at all. When it involves tomatoes, he'll make something close to decent. Other than that, his food can send you to the hospital. It happened to Itachi-kun a couple years back."

Sakura was shocked. "Wow…I never knew Sasuke couldn't cook. I thought since he's already smart and powerful, he'd know how to cook."

"I don't blame you for thinking that."

Time flew by quickly and the girls had finished preparing dinner. Everyone was seated at the table and eating silently, except Mikoto and Sakura.

"I saw this beautiful white kimono with cherry blossom decorations!" Mikoto said. "I think that you would look great in it. It matches your pink hair. Speaking of hair, is your hair naturally pink?"

"Yep!" Sakura beamed proudly. "My mom has pink hair, so that's why I have pink hair too. But I often wonder how she got pink hair and how the pink hair started."

"Don't you mean had?" Sasuke said.

"Hm? What did you say?" Sakura said.

"You said your mother has pink hair, but she's dead already so she _had _pink hair."

'_Oh crap_,' Sakura thought.

'**Nice going, smart-ass!'** Inner Sakura screamed.

Sakura quickly thought up an excuse. "Uh…well, my mom's death was a really big thing to me and it's still hard for me to cope with the fact. I still feel her presence in my heart and I like to think she's watching over me. I like to think that she is still here." Sakura silently sighed in relief.

Mikoto frowned sadly. "Aw, Sakura-san…I'm so sorry. I'm touched by your love to your mother."

"Enough of this nonsense and pointless topic," Fugaku spoke. "Sasuke, your Aunt Hanna needs you to take care of her daughter tomorrow. She's going to be away for the day."

Sasuke frowned. "But otou-san, nii-san said he'd finally train me tomorrow."

Fugaku glanced at Sasuke. "Are you disobeying me?"

Sasuke stared down at the table for a second and then shook his head. "No. I'll watch Asako tomorrow."

"Good. Besides, Itachi cannot afford to waste time training you when he needs to train himself."

Sakura ate silently, putting on a smiling front. But inside, she felt a slight hint of sadness for her teammate…and her fiancée. With a father like this, it's no wonder the two boys grew to crave power. After dinner, Sakura helped Mikoto wash the dishes before returning to her, er, _their_ bed. Itachi sat on the bed reading a scroll. Sakura, after grabbing her pajamas and going into the bathroom to change, sat down beside Itachi.

"What are you reading?" she asked out of curiosity, eyeing the scroll.

Itachi rolled up the scroll before she was able to read the contents. "Stuff about the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"I see. The Mangekyou Sharingan seems to be such a powerful tool. I kind of wish I had something like that."

"Great tools like that come at a price."

"What about the Byakugan? Aren't the Hyuugas born with it?"

"I like to think the Sharingan is more powerful."

Sakura laughed. "It's late. We should sleep now."

"You can take the bed," he said, getting off from the bed, but he stopped when he felt a gentle tug on his dark shirt.

Sakura contemplated her decision for a second before pulling on his shirt. When he turned around, she looked up and met his dark eyes. "Just…sleep here. With me."

"Alright."

When he switched the lights off and darkness filled the room, he slipped under the covers and lied next to her. Sakura could feel the warmth from his body because of the proximity. She silently thanked the darkness for hiding her blush. When she calmed down, she stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

"Itachi-kun?" she whispered, checking to see if he was already sleeping.

"Hn," he replied, indicating he was still awake.

"Do you think of me as a friend?"

"No."

She frowned, saddened with the answer. She had thought that he would think of her at least as a friend, but it seems he hadn't…yet. She would have to work harder, pry more into his life and become his friend. "Do you…have any friends?"

"One."

She was slightly shocked. "Who?"

Itachi paused before answering. "Shisui."

"Is he an Uchiha?"

"Go sleep already."

Sakura slightly giggled. "Ok."

* * *

"Itachi-kun, Itachi-kun! Wait!" Mikoto said, rushing towards Itachi and Sakura, who were standing in front of the door and ready to leave.

Itachi and Sakura halted and turned around to see Mikoto in front of them. She smiled. "You two look so cute together!"

Sakura blushed. Itachi remained stoic.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see the two of you together like this. I can't get over it! I can't believe my little boy is engaged! Pink and black…Sakura-san and Itachi-kun, you two look so good together."

"Okaa-san, you're embarrassing her," Itachi said. "And we're going to be late."

"Oh, sorry! Off you go!" Mikoto smiled.

Sakura was still blushing as they walked down the roads of the Uchiha Estate. The residents were looking at them. The elders were admiring how good they looked together, the boys were glaring at Itachi, and the girls were glaring at Sakura.

"Itachi!" a voice called out.

The two stopped and turned around. Sakura hadn't seen him before.

"So, this is your fiancée," he said.

Itachi nodded. "Yes, Shisui."

'_Shisui!_' Sakura said to herself.

'**It's Itachi's friend!**' Inner Sakura recalled.

"So, are we training today?" he said.

"Yes."

Shisui grinned. "Ready to get your ass kicked _again_?"

"That's my line."

"So cocky of you to say that, Itachi."

"Look who's talking."

Sakura watched the conversation between the two men. In a way, it reminded her of Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto would be overconfident and Sasuke would be the one always beating Naruto. Of course, Naruto was the only one that was able to see a side of Sasuke that hardly anyone else say. She was slightly surprised to see how easily Itachi talked to Shisui; she assumed the two must be very good friends. The conversation soon came to an end and Shisui left, telling Itachi to be at their training area in half an hour.

"So, I guess you should be heading off to that training area Shisui was talking about. I'm going to go to see Tsunade-shishou."

"I'll walk you there."

She blinked twice. "Wow…you're awfully nice. Do you consider me a friend now?"

"No," he said. "Let's go."

When they reached the Hokage's Tower, they met a few of their fellow ninjas. It was Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, the InoShikaCho team.

"Your big forehead is radiating a blinding light, forehead girl," Ino teased.

Sakura glared and retorted, "Your ugly pig smell is making people die from lack of oxygen."

Shikamaru sighed and Chouji…ate a banana! Having barely noticed this, Sakura's mouth hung open in shock.

"Ch-Chouji, are you eating…a banana?" she stuttered, pointing to the banana.

"Surprisingly, I lost a game of Shoji (**Senko:** Is this what it's called? I don't remember.) to Shikamaru, so I had to eat a box of bananas," he said, throwing the banana's cover on the ground.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"That's littering!" Ino screeched. "Pick that up this instant!"

"Sorry, Ino," Choji said. "Part of the bet was that the loser would litter in front of you."

"Where are you guys going?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura beamed. "I was just on my way to see Tsunade-shishou, and Itachi-kun was just about to go training."

"Well, we'll be going now. We don't want to delay your meeting," Shikamaru said.

When the trio left, Sakura dashed in front of the Uchiha prodigy, frolicking. She turned around and faced him, walking towards him to give him a quick kiss on the cheek for walking her to the Hokage's Tower. "Thanks for walking me here, Itachi-"

She couldn't finish.

She slipped.

She slipped on Chouji's banana peel.

'**WHAT THE FUCK!'** Inner Sakura screamed.

And Itachi attempted to grab her hand to save her from falling…

But she dragged Itachi down with her…

And he landed right on top of her…

And his lips unintentionally met hers.

* * *

"Sakura, are you okay?" Tsunade asked, watching her favorite pupil.

"Sakura-sama! Are you sick?" Mikki exclaimed, a worried look on her face. On the way to the Hokage's office, Sakura ran into Mikki (**Senko:** Remember from chapter 4?) and it turns out that Mikki was also headed for the Hokage's Office.

Sakura, currently, was playing with the hem of her skirt and held a flustered face. The events of only a few minutes ago still replayed in her head and no matter how hard she tried to forget it she still remembered every detail.

How she tripped on Chouji's damn banana peel.

How she fell.

How Itachi fell on _top_ of her.

How Itachi's lips touched hers.

It was just a short kiss, his lips quickly brushing against hers. But whatever kind it was, it was still a kiss and she couldn't believe that _the_ Uchiha, Itachi had kissed her. She had always thought that Sasuke would be her first kiss, and this thought made her just slightly angry with losing her first kiss, but she found she couldn't be angry. A part of her wanted to have him kiss her again, a deeper kiss than the one they had shared only moments ago.

"I…I'm okay."

"That's good then. So, Mikki and you will be going on a short C-rank mission. This should only take about one or two days. You are just to escort a civilian back to his village, which isn't very far away," Tsunade said.

* * *

_BAM_

Shisui barely dodged Itachi's punch. He stepped back, exhaling a breath of relief. "What's with you, Itachi? You could have killed me!"

Itachi regained his posture, not answering Shisui.

Shisui sighed. "And now you're ignoring me. You're such a bastard. Anyway, you've gotten stronger, way stronger than when we last fought – which was, what, three weeks ago? I can't believe you improved this much. What's your secret?"

"I don't have a secret," Itachi looked at him, "you're just untalented."

Shisui laughed. "You're funny. Anyway, let's head back."

It had been hours since Itachi had dropped off Sakura at the Hokage's Tower. Since then, he had a hard time registering what had happened. Sure, it wasn't his fault. He was just trying to save her from falling, but nevertheless he did fall on top of her and, well, it did count as a kiss right? Their lips did meet. He was Uchiha, Itachi, and Itachi does not do kissing whatsoever.

"Hey, Itachi, look!" Shisui pointed to an item displayed in front of the window of a shop. Itachi stop his stream of thoughts and looked at what Shisui was examining. The store was a jewelry shop and Shisui was admiring the glimmering female accessories.

"I think that Keiko-chan would love that necklace," he said, pointing to a necklace with a small heart locket. "And her birthday is next week, too. Come on, let's go in. I have to buy it before someone else does."

Itachi followed Shisui inside the store. Shisui continued to look around the shop. Bored, Itachi decided to look around as well. His roaming stopped when he came across a certain necklace. It was a simple necklace with a small cherry blossom as the pendant. Suddenly, an all too familiar face flashed across his mind.

'_I never gave her a birthday present,' _he recalled. He turned around to see Shisui purchasing the necklace. When his gaze returned to the necklace, the same face appeared in his mind again. He wanted to stalk off and leave the necklace, but it was as if the necklace held an invincible aura that pulled him closer.

* * *

"That necklace was really pretty, though, Itachi," Shisui said, walking down the street with his newly bought necklace. "It really suits Sakura-san. You should have gotten it."

"Hn."

That night Itachi slept uncomfortably. One reason that was to blame was because his mind kept drifting off to the necklace. Should be buy it for her? A part of him wants to get the necklace for her, wants to see how perfectly that necklace dangled around her smooth neck; then again, there was that part of him that said it was a mere necklace and doing something such as buying a necklace for a girl showed too much weakness. Another reason that was to blame was the emptiness of the bed. Twice he slept in the same bed with her and he missed having her company already. Night never seemed to be so long before and he had never in his life yearned to see the morning ray shine and the return of a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

The next day dragged on and Itachi couldn't believe he never noticed how boring life actually was. He always beat Shisui in sparring. He always received the same dreamy stares from the village girls. He always walked through the streets with the admiring eyes of the civilians laid upon him. Dusk arrived yet again and Itachi was walking home. On his way home, something caught his eye yet again. Something from a certain store, and he contemplated for a long time what to do.

* * *

"Yo, Itachi-kun!" Sakura greeted, reminding Itachi of Kakashi.

Itachi blinked as he saw Sakura look up from the scroll she was reading. He had just arrived home and entered his room.

"You're back," he said.

"That's all?" she faked a frown and sulk. "No 'welcome back' or 'how was your trip' at all? Didn't you miss me?"

"When did you get back?"

"Just now, about half an hour ago," she answered, rolling up the scroll and getting up from the floor.

When she got up, she felt a gentle grasp on her hand. Her eyes met with Itachi's for moment before shifting down to their hands. He could tell she was still awkward from yesterday, but was trying hard to put up a comfortable front. His other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. Sakura stared in awe and disbelief as he put the necklace on her. When he finished, she grabbed the pendant of the necklace and blinked.

"I'm…uh…." She couldn't find the words. "I…you…this necklace…um-"

"I never gave you a birthday present."

She stared up at him again, her emerald eyes meeting his dark eyes. Gently, she wrapped her arms around his waste and pulled him into a soft embrace. He could sense her smile and joy.

"Thank you," she whispered.

And suddenly, the feeling of boredom he felt earlier now gradually subsided.

* * *

**Senko:** So sorry for the slow update! I was busy and all, so yeah! Also, FF had some sort of problem, I think, and I couldn't log in :) To make up for it, I made this chappie longer! I was actually going to separate them and make them chapters but I thought nah lol

Will Sakura and Itachi progress beyond a simple, quick kiss? Find out in the very, VERY near chapters of WA! Gosh, these two are really slow, aren't they? xD


	11. Chapter 11

**Senko:** Hello everyone! I apologize for the lateness of my update. My school just ended and I didn't want to update my story as the school year was ending because the teachers were piling work on us so I was overloaded. Not to mention that I had high school and college finals all in one week :( so yeah. But now that school is over, I am updating lol

And school ended on May 26 for me so I'll have to admit that it's my fault for not updating asap after school ended. I was too lazy to type lol but you know what? ;D I've got everything planned out for this story already! I just...have to get un-lazy and type it lol

**Responses to Reviews**

**Heartless Ghost:** I couldn't log in OR review at all lol I could only read stories.  
**EnV:** No, I don't know how Shisui looks like lol I don't think they've shown him in the anime or manga at all lol hmm they should, though.  
**Doctor Meowzie:** MY BAD! T.T OMG I didn't even see that mistake lol thank you for telling me!  
**Ninjaxbunny:** Yay! Thanks for always reviewing! –gives cupcakes-  
**Sakura's Hope: **Yes, they are slow. But…you're getting impatient, right? Mission accomplished! –evil laughter- lol**  
Angelism DNA:** Ahaha really? Lol  
**Psychochild22:** Uh… o.O  
**Lilmisssushi:** Hi hi, Sushi-chan! Thankiez so much for reviewing! Anyway, hm…well, you already know what's going to happen so I don't have to tell you the answer to your question ;D ahaha annnddd I am very, super-uber-duper-mega-ultra-hyper that you've finally posted your stories! YAY! Eheheh :3  
**Neon kun:** You are having trouble predicting:D hmm well I _could_ spoil everything for you lol  
**Sekiryu: **Your review is so nice and awesome! And I totally agree with you about the whole Sakura getting kidnapped. Since I've decided to discontinue my other ItaSaku fic, I was thinking about making a new fic where Sakura gets kidnapped but I was like, "Nah…too cliché." I mean, most of the fics already deal with her getting kidnapped. I used to love SasuSaku but after a while I got tired of it cause the stories get so cliché now and have the same or similar plots. Thank you so much for reviewing!

Thanks to **sillymail, The Squabbit, The Violent Tomboy, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob…, Reviews, DevilsLittleSister, Itachi's-Gurl41, animemistress419, inuyashaHELP, ItaItaParadise, Mistress DragonFlame, theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff, SweetAssassin, Siy, .H.P.I.A.L., iezebel x3, Sylvok, Noyesgirl, hinako89, stealth67, sasuke101, Rhonda21, huffpuff, Riley-Mayori, Tiasha, sakura5584, hel, Sakura0890, Earwen Telrunya** and **A.B34UT1FUL-Lie** for reviewing!

**Disclaimers:** No own. Duh.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Cherry blossom petals swayed left and right.

Itachi's eyes remained intensely focused on the movements of the cherry blossom petals. He had just finished another training session with Shisui and had lied down beside a tree to rest. For a long time he was unaware that he was staring at the flower petals, but soon enough he came to realize his actions. Why he couldn't keep his gaze off the petals, he didn't entirely know the answer. But perhaps he felt drawn to them because they reminded him of his fiancé. Fragile, beautiful…and pink.

Getting up from his spot, he exited the training area and made his way through the bustling streets of Konoha to return to his home. He was well aware of the familiar chakra that sped towards him, but he only slowed down his pace instead of turning around. A pair of small arms quickly wrapped around his waist from behind and a petite body collided into his.

Sakura giggled, "Itachi!"

She quickly let go of him and he turned around to be met with her bright smile.

"You're happy," he stated.

"Yep!" she beamed. "Tsunade-shishou said she wants me to be a temporary teacher for the ninja academy! So…"

"Yes?" he asked.

She stared at the ground and blushed, resembling Hinata, "I was wondering if…you would like to work with me? Uh, that is, you can just work with me when you have time."

He stared at her for a moment before replying, "Sure."

"This is so wonderful!" she beamed with a wide smile on her innocent face. "Oh, from now on the academy will be starting class at 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. instead of 9 A.M. so we have an hour before class begins. Let's hurry to the academy so we can get to talk to our students who arrive early."

"I will have to leave at 1 P.M.," Itachi informed her.

Sakura glanced at him, "You have a mission?"

"No," he answered, "Godaime-sama has placed me on the interrogation team that will be questioning Kisame."

"Oh, but why? She never places someone on the interrogation team like that."

"Since Kisame wanted me to join Akatsuki, she thinks that I will stand a better chance of getting information out of him."

"I see," Sakura muttered, "but that's OK! Let's go!"

Grasping his hand gently she began to pull him towards the ninja academy, a wide smile on her face.

It had been a couple of days since the kissing incident and the couple never brought up the topic again. They continued on with their daily lives, pretending as though it had never happened. But they both couldn't deny that they just can't erase that incident from their memory at all.

"Hello!" Sakura smiled.

The young girl, about seven years old, with short brown hair looked at Sakura for a second before shyly turning her head a little to the side, "Uhm…h-hi."

"I am your temporary sensei!" Sakura exclaimed happily.

"Sakura, you're scaring her," Itachi said.

That was definitely a fact. The poor shy girl seemed so frightened of Sakura. Upon realizing this, Sakura let out a small nervous laughter. The two of them were now in their classroom at the ninja academy. There were only a few students there and Sakura decided to greet them.

"Sensei," said a voice from amidst the few students.

Sakura and Itachi looked at the source of the voice; two girls sat together at a desk and a boy sat in the desk behind them. There was a girl with blonde pigtails, a girl with black braids, and a boy with messy brown hair.

"Are you two together?" asked the blonde girl.

Sakura and Itachi glanced at each other for a split second. Sakura answered, "Um…yes, we're engaged."

"See, I told you!" the blonde exclaimed. "I win!"

The girl with black braids and the boy with messy brown hair each handed the blonde a dollar.

The two stared at the three peculiar students. The rest of the time progressed in much silence, with the exception of Sakura starting small conversation with any students that arrived. It was odd; so far, four groups of students (ranging from two to five students) have made bets on whether or not Sakura and Itachi were together. Time passed by and it was now 10 A.M. and the classroom was filled with enthusiastic children.

"OK! Class, settle down!" Sakura ordered from amidst the confusion and the chattering. After a couple of minutes, she was able to earn the students' undivided attention. Itachi was not much help since he wasn't very talkative or loud. "I will now be telling you a bit about myself. My name is Haruno, Sakura, and I am your temporary teacher. I like flowers, especially cherry blossoms, and cute things that are pink. My favorite color is pink and I am a medic-nin at Konoha Hospital. Okay, Itachi-kun, your turn."

"Uchiha, Itachi," he said.

Sakura turned her attention back to the class, "Um, so any questions?" A girl with long, straight dark-blue hair raised her hand. "Yes, the girl with the dark-blue hair."

"Are you two together?" she asked.

"Um…yes, we're engaged," Sakura answered.

"YES! WE WIN!" half the class exclaimed.

"NOOO!" the other half cried.

Indeed, this was a strange bunch of students.

* * *

"Wow! Haruno-sensei, you're so cool!" a girl with red hair exclaimed as Sakura performed a healing jutsu. The class was divided into boys and girls and Sakura and Itachi would show the students a little about their careers. The class was now outside in one of the academy's training grounds. Sakura started with the female students and were showing them medical jutsus and chakra cotrol. Itachi, on the other hand, began with the male students and focused on power, stealth, genjutsu, and bloodlines. 

Sakura smiled proudly, "Thank you. To be a medic-nin, you will have to be able to control your chakra well; don't use too much or too little chakra. It may seem difficult to perfect your chakra control, but practice makes perfect."

The red-head smiled admiringly at Sakura, "Haruno-sensei, not only are you so powerful and cool but you have a gorgeous and strong fiancée!"

Sakura blushed.

"Yeah!" a brunette agreed. "Hey, Uchiha-sensei is so powerful…did you see him throw that shuriken?"

"Yeah, it was a perfect shot!" said the red-head. "Haruno-sensei's children will be pink-headed sharingan-using healing prodigies!"

Sakura's blush deepened as the conversation between the two girls continued.

"Sakura," said a familiar voice from behind. Sakura turned around to see Itachi behind her, "it's time for me to leave now."

"I'll see you later then," Sakura said. With that, Itachi stalked off.

"And you two live together!" exclaimed the red-head, once Itachi was out of sight. "How romantic!"

* * *

His footsteps echoed in the cold, dark room with only a single source of light and warmth radiating from a candle placed on the desk in the center of the room. Making his way to the desk, Itachi sat down across from Kisame. Kisame was bound to a chair and Itachi could clearly see he was drained of his energy and chakra. 

"Itachi…" Kisame whispered, his head slowly lifting up to meet Itachi's. He let out a weak chuckle, "This is unbelievable. Such power…you will let such power go to waste?"

Itachi only stared at Kisame as he remembered what Kisame was referring to.

_Flashback_

"_Test my capacity?"_

"_Yes. Kill your clan?"_

_A moment of silence took place and only the rustling of the leaves could be heard. Should he it…again? A splotch of pink flashed in his head for a split second. Just when he finally found a reason to spare the life of his clan, his inevitable fate chased after him and caught up to him. None of this was even real, so why would he even care? Why?_

_Itachi closed his eyes, regretting what he would say, "…no."_

_Kisame blinked, "No? Heh, I see. But know this: you will regret your decision."_

_End Flashback_

"You would choose a pathetic family and fiancée…over power?" Kisame said. "I said it once and I'll say it again…you will regret your decision."

Itachi's eyes remained indifferently focused on Kisame, countless thoughts running through his mind. But soon he broke out of his stream of consciousness and remembered his purpose, "Where is the Akatsuki hideout?"

Kisame chuckled, "You would know had you answered differently to my proposal."

"What is your reason for attacking the Kazekage?"

"You expect me to tell you?"

Itachi stopped his questions for a moment, knowing that Kisame would not answer. There was a few seconds of silence, until Itachi stood up from his seat. His footsteps grew faint to Kisame as he exited the room.

* * *

Sensing a familiar chakra, Ibiki looked up to see Itachi before him. He bristled, "How did it go? Did you get any answers?" 

Itachi shook his head, "No. Kisame refuses to speak."

Ibiki sighed, "Oh well. We'll try again tomorrow. Itachi, will you do me a favor?" Itachi looked at him, waiting for him to speak. "Today is my niece's birthday and I ordered her a gift. The gift is ready at the antique shop on the intersection of Fire Street and Leaf Street. I have too much work to do and I don't have the time to go there. Will you go there and deliver the gift for me?"

"Yes, I can do that," Itachi replied.

Ibiki grinned, "Thanks a lot, Itachi. My niece is in the hospital right now; she was hurt from a recent mission. Her name is Morino, Keiko."

* * *

_ANTIQUE STORE_

Itachi looked around to confirm that he was in the right place. Fire Street and Leaf Street. He was indeed in the correct place. He gently placed his right hand on the door and pushed it open, causing a tiny ring to sound.

"Good evening," greeted an old lady sitting behind the cash register. She was perhaps in her mid-fourties and wore a single shirt and skirt along with an apron. Her hair was messy and tied back into a lose ponytail.

Itachi approached her, "Morino, Ibiki has sent me to pick up his gift for his niece Keiko."

"Ah, yes, yes. I will go get it right now," the old lady said. She got up from her seat and entered the back room. Itachi looked around and examined the place. The room was dark and there were a good amount of vases and jewelry. Something on a shelf caught his eye, though: a thin, black hard-covered notebook with the word 'WISH' carved in the center. He walked over to it and took it in his hands, turned it over and looked at the back.

'Write a what-if sentence and it shall come true.'

"See something that has caught your attention?"

Itachi turned to the cash register to see that the old lady had returned already and she held a present in her hands, "No. I was just looking around."

The old smiled, "I see. Here is the present."

Itachi walked up to her and took the present, "Thank you. I have a question."

"What is it?"

"That book with the word 'WISH' on it…it sounds very interesting."

"Ah yes…that book is indeed very interesting. I heard that it was made by a Leaf ninja some couple hundred of years ago."

"I am just curious but…if what the back of the book says is true, what happens?"

"My mother, the one who gave it to me, told me that you are sucked into a realm where what you wrote comes true."

"I see. How would you be able to get back into the real world? Or are you stuck there for eternity?"

"Ah…I never tried it before so I am unsure, but my mother told me that it is like real life. The only real way to escape…is death."

"Thank you," Itachi turned and started for the door. He could hear her mutter a quick, "Come again" before leaving.

Death…

Would he do it?

Would he die…hurt himself for once and die…to escape this beautiful nightmare?

* * *

"Morino, Keiko, please," Itachi said to the nurse at the front desk of Konoha Hospital. The nurse flipped through some paper quickly before responding. 

"Room 208," she answered.

"Thank you," Itachi said before leaving for room 208. Within minutes, he arrived in front of room 208 and entered. Much to his surprise, Sakura was there tending to a teenage girl with brown hair.

"Itachi-kun!" Sakura beamed.

"Sakura," he greeted and then turned to the girl. "Are you Keiko?"

"Yes," the girl nodded.

Itachi handed her the present, "This is from Ibiki-san for your birthday."

The girl took the present and smiled, "Thank you. Sakura-san, so…when will I be free to use my right leg?"

"About a week because the damage to your leg was pretty deep. Just be careful and you'll be alright in no time!" Sakura smiled. "Itachi-kun, are you going to head home right now?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Great, we'll go together since my shift is done now," Sakura said. She turned to Keiko, "See you, Keiko."

Sakura trotted happily, a smile on her face, as she walked beside Itachi. It was clear that she overjoyed, like she always was. Her emerald eyes glimmered marvelously and the necklace he had given her a couple of days ago dangled on her smooth neck. Her pink strands of hair swung slightly to the side and back, due to the gentle breeze. There couldn't be a sight more beautiful.

She turned to Itachi, meeting his eyes, and her pink lips curved to form a smile, "Do you finally think of me as a friend?"

"No."

Death…

Would he die…hurt himself for once and die…to escape this beautiful nightmare?

* * *

**Senko:** Yay! I've finished the chapter! Wellz, anyway, I'm estimating there should be about 3-4 chapters until the end of "Worlds Apart" :) 

Check out my deviantart: animesenko. deviantart. com and my myspace: myspace. com / animesenko


	12. Chapter 12

**Senko:** Hello everyone. Welcome to the twelfth chapter of "Worlds Apart."

**Responses to Reviews**

**Lilmisssushi:** Aww you're so cool; you always review:D Really? You think I gave Kisa-kun a cool personality? Yay! Yes…it is the beginning of the end (v.v) **Mistress DragonFlame:** No ;D he won't be dead in the real world. **ninjaxbunny:** You got that right! **w1cked angel:** I didn't deny you on myspace! And heck yeah they are so meant to be LOVERS ) **inuyashaHELP:** You will find the answer in this chapter. **Angelism DNA:** Yeah! We can all be friends:D more friends for me, YAY! **Earwen Telrunya:** Well, uhm…I don't know. I had to make Itachi ask something and that was the first thing to come to my mind, but you never know maybe the headquarters isn't in the same place. One person could make a lot of difference :o **.H.P.I.A.L.:** Really, you think so? Yay! **Hao'sAnjul:** It's okay! As long as the chapters were good, it's all cool! ;D **Anime and Manga Girls:** O.O;; **Shy-Princess:** If he dies in the fake world, he'll awaken in the real world.

Thankiez a bunchiez to **.chie.x.sieka., huffpuff, pilar-ayesha, Iccena, Sakura0890, sillymail, Heartless Ghost, Sanquine Sreams, Natsuhiboshi, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob…, Itachi's-Gurl41, 'sayhellopunk-,animemistress419, Midnight-Miko66, sakura5584, A.B34UT1FUL-Lie, Yamanaka Ino, hinako89, Mareno Mikato, Rhonda21, balckXheart, Lady Light, Sylvok, Baka'sAngel, Hyousetsu, theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff, fantasy4luvr, Mizukage, winner-loser, Aruxia,**and** Winterflower** for reviewing!

**Disclaimer:** No own. Duh.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"What do you think you will gain from this?"

The sentence echoed in his mind. Itachi stared emotionlessly at the shark-like man sitting across the metal desk from him. Their eyes met and they held their stare for a moment, as if participating in a contest. Kisame was the first to blink and look away. Itachi shifted his gaze and focused on the candle placed on the center of the desk. "I am the one to do the interrogation."

Kisame laughed. "Seeing as I'm going to be executed in a few days, I could care less."

"Where is the Akatsuki hideout?"

Kisame slouched, leaning back against the chair. "Again with the same questions? You've been asking me the same questions for the past few days. You know I won't tell you anything. Honestly, Konoha is just so stupid."

"What is your reason for attacking the Kazekage?" Itachi asked, ignoring Kisame's comments.

"What do you think you will gain from this?" Kisame repeated his question.

"This will conclude today's interrogation," he said, using his hands to help himself up from the chair. He turned his back to Kisame and started for the door, but his steps stopped at a familiar question he heard many times during that interrogation session.

"What do you think you will gain from this?" Kisame said once again. "Respect? Honor? Everyone is just using you for your power. Don't deny it; you know it's true. What is it that you will gain from living like this?"

He inhaled before answering, "…life." And with that he took his leave.

A smirk brought its way onto Kisame's pale blue skin as he noted the purposely unlocked door.

* * *

"…and then I paired little Ken with Keiko for the project because it's obvious he has a crush on her. They were so cute together!" Sakura squealed. "Itachi-kun, you should have seen them! They were just plain adorable." 

Itachi stood beside the teacher's desk, waiting as his fiancée collected the students' papers and placed it inside her bag. Glancing up at the clock, he noted that it was a quarter before 3 P.M. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and silently inhaled before he began his countdown. Ibiki should have returned to the interrogation room by now.

_Five_

Sakura placed her cream messenger bag over her shoulder and smiled at Itachi. "Okay, Itachi-kun! Sorry if I took long to pack up but now I'm finally done so we can go home."

_Four_

Sakura closed the classroom door and jammed the key into the doorknob, turning it to lock the door. Turning around to face her fiancée, she was stunned with shock as her lips were locked with another. Her eyelids closed, shielding her emerald eyes and her body relaxed when she felt Itachi's hand rest on her waist and gently push her against the door.

_Three_

He slipped his coarse fingers under her red blouse and she could feel his warmth against her skin. Their tongues danced to an unorganized rhythm of emotions.

_Two_

And then-

_One_

And then?

Pause.

Nothing.

Silence.

When the strong stench of blood quickly filled the room and reached her senses, Sakura's eyes bolted open only too late. Itachi's limp figure fell to the side, slowly revealing a smirking Kisame standing a few feet ahead of Sakura. The once glossy halls of the academy were now stained with blood. For a split second, although it seemed to be taking long, their eyes met. Sakura was the one to break their gaze, soon enough to catch Itachi before his body would have come in contact with the solid ground.

Tears quickly formed in her eyes and she instantly brought her hands together to form seals. Placing her hands over his body, a green light surrounded the section and began to heal him. "Itachi-kun..."

She could hear footsteps indicating that Kisame was heading towards her, but she ignored it until she felt his shadow hover over her. She looked up to see a wide and proud smirk form on his pale blue skin. Her emerald eyes stared into his eyes in fear.

It was the end.

She knew it was the end. He was far too strong for someone like her. He was so much stronger that she couldn't even detect his well-hidden chakra. Her eyelids slowly closed to shield her emerald orbs, but her hands never stopped the healing. She couldn't do anything even if she tried. She knew that it was definitely the end.

_One_

_Two_

_Three_

_Four _

_Five_

Silence.

She slowly opened her eyes to be met with an empty corridor, Itachi's unconscious body and splattered blood being her only company. But voices in the distance proved as the reason why her life was spared.

"Quick! This way!" a male voice ordered.

Sakura focused her attention back on Itachi. Even though it wasn't her death, she knew that it was indeed the end of something - of her and him, of _him_. But still she couldn't stop herself. Maybe, just maybe, he could be saved after all. She could feel the ANBU members approaching but paid them no attention. For a minute or so thepresence of five otherindividualswatched the lifeless medic-nin.

"Sakura-san..."whispered a male member.

Sakura gave no reply.

"Sakura-san," he repeated louder.

Still no reply.

"Sakura-san!" his voice echoing throughout the halls. "You can stop _now_."

"No, I can save him," she said amidst her silent crying.

"No, you can't," he said bluntly.

"Yes, I can!" she retorted. Her healing was forced to stop when a hand grabbed her hand and forced her up from her kneeling position. "NO! I CAN SAVE HIM! LET ME GO!" the tears streamed down her face and she lunged towards Itachi only to be seized by a pair of hands wrapping around her waist and pulling her back and pushing her against the wall.

"_YOU CAN'T SAVE HIM AND YOU KNOW IT_" the man yelled. "Face it, Sakura-san! Whatever hurt him was big and powerful enough and _all_ his vital organs are destroyed, including his heart! His spinal cord was cut in half! So stop being so stupid and foolish!"

Sakura's breathing grew shallow as she realized that she knew all of this ever since she caught his body from hitting the ground. She looked up at the ANBU, staring at his mask that covered his eyes. "I...I just...he can't..." her sentences stopped with no endings as she brought her hands up to wipe the tears away from her eyes. Oblivious to what had happened, her tears-stained face was now covered in blood.

Even though it wasn't the end of her, she knew that it was the end of something - of her and him, of _him_.

* * *

Itachi's eyelids slowly opened and his dark orbs met the world. He lifted himself up and rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the blurriness. When his vision was better, he surveyed the area. It was the same grassy field of cherry blossoms that he had remembered seeing. Lying only a few feet away was a familiar pink-haired medic-nin, her black notebook only inches away from her hand. 

Kneeling beside the peacefully resting female, Itachi took a good examination of her face. Suddenly, a single tear rolled down her soft cheeks. Sensing a familiar chakra approaching, Itachi quickly raised his right index finger to wipe away her tear before getting up and walking away.

When he emerged from the cherry blossom field, it came as no surprise to him to see Kisame standing there. Kisame grunted. "Damn it, Itachi. I searched everywhere for you since this afternoon! You know it's dangerous for us to stay in any shinobi village for a while, and we've been here since morning and its dusk now."

"I know," Itachi answered.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan," Ino chanted. "Let's go for some ice cream!" 

Sakura gave no answer. Instead, her eyes remained focused intensely on her intertwined fingers that rested on her lap. Since the incident that took Itachi's life, she had remained cooped up in her room. She talked to no one except Sasuke and Naruto, but she didn't converse all that much. It had been two weeks now and she had hardly spoke.

"I..." she began.

Ino looked at the pink-haired girl, shocked to finally have gotten something out of her. "Yeah?"

"I think we should go for ice cream."

"Ice cream is the best cure, right?" Ino said, licking her vanilla flavored ice cream. "Don't you feel better now to finally get out of that stuffy room?"

"Hm," Sakura answered, taking a small lick of her strawberry ice cream. She was starting to sound more like Sasuke and Itachi.

"So, later on we should-" Ino began but was interrupted.

"INO!" yelled a voice from the distance. The two girls turned around to see Shikamaru running towards them. "There you are. Man, this is so troublesome. I was searching for you for hours or something. Your mom wanted me to tell you that you owe her some working hours?"

"OMG!" Ino screamed. "I totally forgot! I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura-chan! I have to do something for my mom!" The two watched Ino's figure dash away.

"So, Sakura, are you feeling bet-" Shikamaru's sentence was brought to an abrupt stop as he noticed Sakura's figure walking away.

* * *

Her fingers traced the carved letters that formed his name. It had been two weeks since the incident that took her fiancé's life yet it still was unbelievable to her. He was strong, he was smart, and he was a prodigy. She knew he sensed Kisame's chakra. She knew he could have easily protected himself. But she didn't know why he stood there and allowed himself to be killed. 

Just when she thought that she had a good life, the single thing that made it good was taken away. So now it made her wonder whether or not she was meant to not have anything. They say that we fall only to pick ourselves up, but that wasn't her case. What if she picked herself up only to fall down again?

She fell in love with Sasuke years ago and he left her. She became a part of Team 7 and grew so close to every member, but they all went their seperates way. Sasuke would never love her and Team 7 would never be the same. Even though Sasuke had returned, he was a part of ANBU and so was Naruto. She may be a Jounin, but her time was spent at the hospital and only occasionally would she be assigned on a mission. Kakashi had his own duties to take care of and had hardly any time in the village. The fact that Team 7 was now broken up gave Kakashi no reason to remain in Konoha for long periods of time. Now she was finally given a life of happiness, even if it was a fake.

_CRACK_

The sound of a twig cracking entered her ears and Sakura slowly turned around to see Kisame standing from a distance. The same smirk he held a couple of weeks ago formed on his blue face again. Her left hand grazed her thigh softly, feeling nothing; she hadn't strapped her holster with her, so she was weaponless. It hadn't occurred to her that something like _this_ would happen.

"Kunoichi..." he chuckled, walking towards her.

"What do you want?" she said in a low voice, enough for him to hear.

"I've come to finish what I've left undone," he said, lifting his right hand to grab his Samehada.

And now she knew it was the endof not only him, but her as well.

Her eyelids slowly closed and tears streamed down her face.

* * *

**Senko:** One or two more chapters and it's the end. :D 


	13. Chapter 13

**Senko:** This was originally going to be the last chapter. However, I am extending the story. The story will continue for another few chapters because I want to make Itachi and Sakura meet ;D so I repeat myself in caps for the people who choose to ignore this, this is NOT THE LAST CHAPTER.

400+ reviews! And omg 73 reviews for the chapter 12! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! SENKO UBER WUVS ALL OF YOU! )

**ninjaxbunny:** It applies to me because I live off of muffins! Nuuuhhh I shall have nufin to eat now...and I must die and not be able to continue meh stories x.X lol **Midnight-Miko66:** Yes...it HAD to be sad -evil laughter- you think it was sad? That's good lol I was worrying if it wouldn't be sad enough. **jezebel x3:** That...is for me to know and you to find out lol **Sakura5584.and.Naruto5:** Uhh like...he wants to kill her? Yeah. lol. **rebel-girl:** Dude you would so make an awesome advertiser :D **Mareno Mikato: **o.O Uhhh...I can see that Itachi and blood are among the top on your first priorities list lol** neon kun:** I'm soooo soorrryyyyy neon kuuunnn T.T I shall inform you of my plans from now on lol uhm...well, that is if you really want me to tell you the ending? lol **konohaGiRL:** Aww you flatter me -blushies- **lilmisssushi:** I do not work fast lol man, if only you could see me here reading fanfics instead of writing them XD my writing style seems different? Well, my beta-reader's doing an awesome job in helping me improve my writing! But sadly, my beta-reader cannot beta for a whole month T-T so I'm on my own for a month now lol **winner-loser:** Almost cry? Aww and here I was hoping you would cry lol...maybe I should make the story even sadder? lol

Thanks to **Earwen Telrunya, silly mail, Tachiko, Rhonda21, GinaCat, JusticeDream, huffpuff, Narutofan462, YufVin-Valentine, animemistress419, Neji's Girlfriend, heartless soul, Tiasha, Heartless Ghost, Anna, RaMeNLuVeRMoKoNa, Fukyuu no Tenshi, Sylvok, Aruxia, 'sayhellopunk-, blacksakura159, Mistress DragonFlame, blackXheart, Hao'sAnjul, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiob..., SatuAka, Natsuhiboshi, XxShado-Of-LiesxX, priya, Gothic Miko Princess, BLUEEEyyy, Lady Tsunade,** **Shy-Princess, happy, poke-n-die, Isabella-Young, PuNk-RoCkEr713, Halfbreed741, Okami, theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff, Puppyeye1, Sheltie-chan, Sekiryu, sakura59515, sendoh11, happy go lucky, AngelxDeath, Phylie, D.K.-Missy, yosh, craazy nikki, Super Blahblahblah, Skullcandy, angelica, shadow miko, Sakura and Itachi Forever, NeoQueenSerenity1985, isa18, Lite1232, Saraiyu Aes Sedai, sakuraisitachislover, starfire1, **and **Sakura0777** for reviewing!

And always special thanks to my beta-reader **alphadale**! Alphadale, did you get my last PM? o.O I'm still thankful to have you as a beta-reader but you didn't beta this chapter T.T it's been weeks ( Senko misses you!

**Disclaimer:** No own. Duh.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Sakura jolted awake, breathing heavily. Her eyes instantly shifted down, scanning her body. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw she was perfectly healthy; no blood or injuries anywhere. She surveyed her surroundings, realizing that it was a hospital since everything was white...except a certain dark-haired boy who sat beside her bed, his arms folded across his chest. "Sasuke...kun?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at her and nodded. "You're awake."

Suddenly, the door bolted open and an all too familiar hyperactive blonde jumped inside. "SAKURA-CHAN! I sensed your chakra! I was soooo worried about you!" he chirped, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Naru...to?" she whispered. "What...happened?"

"I found you asleep at the cherry blossom field and tried to wake you up but you wouldn't wake up," Sasuke answered. "So I brought you here and contacted Naruto."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you woke up!" Naruto cried. "I was hungry and I was trying to get the nurses to let me use their microwave to heat up some ramen."

"Oh..." Sakura said quietly.

"Damn," Naruto cursed. "It's dark outside already. Ugh...and the bastard and Hinata-chan and I were gonna take you out for a celebration but you've been sleeping since this afternoon. The nurses said you were under a powerful genjutsu."

"It's...my birthday? Genjutsu?" Sakura asked. She could have sworn it had been months since her birthday, what with the mission and teaching at the academy and all.

"Yeaahh?" Naruto drawled. "This afternoon we gave you presents. Wait, do you have amnesia, Sakura-chan? If you do, you should know that you are a kunoichi and I saved your life from the evil ninjas and you're hopelessly in love with me, _the_ Uzumaki, Naruto! But sadly I cannot love you back because I am in love with Hinata-chan and-"

Naruto's sentence was cut off by a smack to his head from Sasuke. "Idiot..."

"You bastard! You hit me!" Naruto pointed his index finger at Sasuke. "I challenge you!"

Sakura inhaled, closing her eyes. Just when she thought that Kisame would end it for her, she was brought right back to the beginning. It seems that she had gone to some fantasy since she was the only one with any recollection of what happened. Perhaps the book was it's own little world, sucking in anyone who writes in it? Vaguely, she wished that Itachi would remember everything as well, but chances are that he was a fake character the book generated.

Why did things have to turn out this way? If she went back and wrote another sentence, would the book take her back to that realm? Her thoughts were interupted by two words.

"...Mangekyou Sharingan!" Naruto yelled. "Ha! You can't cheat with it since you'll never obtain it!"

Sasuke glared. "_Never_ say never."

"Oh, what, are you gonna kill me to get it? You can't do that - you _wuv_ me, Sasuke-_kun_," Naruto teased, purposely emphasizing the -kun suffix. "But it's too bad I can't return your love. I am Hinata-chan's and hers alone."

Sasuke turned his head away, closing his eyes in frustration. "Ew, you gay idiot. I would never like you."

"Never say never, Sasuke-_kun_," Naruto used his words against him.

"Ah," Sakura began, "the Mangekyou Sharingan..."

"Oh, that's right. The bastard never told you, right? The Mangekyou Sharingan is a type of Sharingan and it's really powerful and _cheating_," Naruto looked over at Sasuke when he said that last word.

"It's not cheating," Sasuke argued. "It's simply powerful and it's Tsukiyomi technique can trap you in a genjutsu for days when in reality only a couple seconds have passed by."

"Hey, hey, bastard, don't forget to include _how _you get it," Naruto said.

"I'm getting to that," Sasuke said annoyed. "You're so damn impatient. You can get it by killing your best friend."

And that was when it hit her.

_Flashback_

"_Do you think of me as a friend?"_

"_No."_

_She frowned, saddened with the answer. She had thought that he would think of her at least as a friend, but it seems he hadn't…yet. She would have to work harder, pry more into his life and become his friend. "Do you…have any friends?"_

"_One."_

_She was slightly shocked. "Who?"_

_Itachi paused before answering. "Shisui."_

_End Flashback_

_Flashback_

_Sakura was still blushing as they walked down the roads of the Uchiha Estate. The residents were looking at them. The elders were admiring how good they looked together, the boys were glaring at Itachi, and the girls were glaring at Sakura._

"_Itachi!" a voice called out._

_The two stopped and turned around. Sakura hadn't seen him before._

"_So, this is your fiancée," he said._

_Itachi nodded. "Yes, Shisui."_

_End Flashback_

If Itachi had the Mangekyou Sharingan and Shisui was his only friend, then Shisui should be dead. How could Shisui be alive? Unless, of course, somehow Itachi wasn't a made-up character the book generated, but what were the odds that this was true? Or maybe Itachi was an exception?

"Is there any exception?" Sakura asked. "Like...what if someone were to have the Mangekyou Sharingan and have his or her best friend still alive?"

Naruto laughed. "If only something like that was true, Sakura-chan. I know we, especially Sasuke, wish that it was true. But since it's not, Sasuke has no choice but to choose_ me_ over the Mangekyou Sharingan, right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke simply looked away and closed his eyes. "Whatever. I just feel that the Mangekyou Sharingan isn't worth it if I'll have to live being hunted down for killing someone."

"Riigghhtt," Naruto remarked sarcastically.

Then...if there were no exceptions, the only explanation for it would be that Itachi was real. She found if hard to believe but it was the only answer. Or maybe she's thinking too much?

The creak of the door signaled a visitor and in walked Tsunade. She smiled as she saw Sakura's conscious figure. "Sakura...it's good you're awake now. I was getting worried that you might sleep like this forever."

Sakura let out a weak laughter. "Yeah..."

"Are you feeling well? Do you know who put you under that genjutsu?" Tsunade asked, taking a seat on the white bed.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm fine but I don't know who casted the genjutsu."

"Did you see anyone suspicious?" Tsunade questioned. "We can't have someone who can perform such powerful genjutsu walking around. Residents might feel scared."

"No, I was alone in the cherry blossom field," Sakura answered.

"What did you see in the genjutsu?"

"Ah, just a bunch of random scary things...darkness everywhere and such," Sakura lied.

"Well then are you well enough to go on a mission? I completely understand if you don't feel well. It's just that a few hours ago a mission came up and you will be needed on this mission so I sent Sasuke to find you since he was the first shinobi I saw all day and that was when he saw you asleep."

Sakura looked up at her teacher and smiled. "I'm fine, Tsunade-shishou. I'll go on the mission."

"Let's see...it's dusk right now and your team will be leaving at nine o'clock sharp this evening, so that will give you some time to get ready," Tsunade said. "So, one more time are you sure you're feeling well?"

"Yes, shishou, I'm fine."

* * *

"Okay, team, gather around!" Naruto ordered, obviously proud of being appointed leader of this A-rank mission. Ino, Neji, and Sakura formed around Naruto. The same thoughts were occurring in their heads: Why was Naruto leader? They would have expected for Neji to be given the position. "Now, everyone, we must fill Sakura in on the information. Sakura-chan, our mission is to find the hideout of a rogue ninja that is said to be causing cruelty and randomly killing residents in the southern area of the Fire Country." 

"However," Ino continued, "since this isn't really a mission where someone pays us and instead it's one where we're helping our country, we are free to kill the ninja if we feel it is for the better of this nation. Our main goal is to gather information and find the hideout."

"And you are playing the role of medic-nin on this team," Neji finished.

* * *

"Oh really?" Ino said in a shocked voice. "So there's a big meanie somewhere in this village and he can come and destroy my pretty face anytime? That is _so _scary!" 

The middle-aged man chuckled, moving closer to Ino and wrapping a arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from him."

"Yay!" Ino beamed, although a voice inside her head encouraged her to restrain herself from throwing up at the man's touch against her bare skin. "You're so powerful. Say, do you know where he is? I want to know so I'll know not to go near him."

The man laid back against the wall. "Hmm, sorry, sweety. I don't know where this ninja is. But most of the murders he did took place in the south side of the town, so there has been some rumors that he's around that area."

"Ino-chan," Sakura approached them, interupting their conversation and speaking in her softest and girliest voice ever. "It's time for us to go."

"Aww..." Ino pretended to sound sad and faked a pout. "It's time for me to go, so I guess I'll see around then, mister?"

The man frowned. "Alright, but can I get a goodbye kiss?"

_The Inner Ino: HOLY SHIT! FUCK NO! OH HELL NO! JUST LOOK AT YOU! YOU MUST BE AROUND 500 POUNDS AND YOU LOOK AS OLD AS MY DAD!_

Ino smiled sweetly. "Sorry! No kisses on the first meeting!"

Sakura and Ino quickly dashed out of the bar. Once they were out of the bar, Ino exhaled deeply in relief. "Man, that was scary!"

"So, did you find anything?" Naruto asked.

"The man said he might be in the southern area of town since most of the murders happened there," Ino answered.

They had just arrived at the city hours ago and decided to start gathering information as quickly as possible. After much searching, they came across a bartender who pointed out a rich man in the bar who might have some information since he is involved with gangs. Naruto had tried to talk to the man but the man simply ignored him. Ino decided to talk to him and pretended to be a cute teenager in financial need and is willing to do anything. That's right, _anything_.

"Alright, well it's getting late so we'll begin searching tomorrow," Neji said.

"Hey! You have no say in what we do! I'm the leader!" Naruto glared at Neji.

Neji glowered back, ten times more deadly than what Naruto did. "Then what do you propose we do?"

"I say we start searching tomorrow!" Naruto declared.

"That's what I said."

"Huh? You did?"

"...idiot..."

* * *

"So then Shika-kun brought me to his favorite cloud gazing place and we lied there together and then guess what! He said he loves me!" Ino squealed, a blush appearing on her face as she recalled the event. Sakura and Ino walked side by side behind Naruto and Neji as the four made their way back to the hotel. 

"Oh...that's really nice," Sakura said almost emotionlessly. She was still somewhat depressed and often looked away from Ino, trying to avoid eye contact or looking at Ino's face. No, it wasn't that Ino was ugly. In fact, Sakura had to admit that Ino was the second most beautiful person she knew, Tsunade being the first. It was simply that Ino was such a cheerful person and Sakura found it hard to see such a happy face when she herself felt so dead and alone.

Trying to avoid seeing Ino, even from the corner of her eye, Sakura looked to her right and directed her attention at the line of stores. Something caught her eye, and she stopped to gaze at it.

"And then, " Ino stopped. "Sakura?" Ino turned around to see Sakura looking through a shop's window. She walked over to Sakura. "What's so interesting?"

And there, in the middle of the display section was a beautiful necklace with a small yet cute cherry blossom as the pendant. "That's a pretty necklace, Sakura..." her sentence drifted into an end as she noticed a feeling of sadness wash over Sakura's eyes. Sakura stared at the necklace, remembering the familiarity of it.

_Flashback_

"_Yo, Itachi-kun!" Sakura greeted, reminding Itachi of Kakashi. _

_Itachi blinked as he saw Sakura look up from the scroll she was reading. He had just arrived home and entered his room._

"_You're back," he said._

"_That's all?" she faked a frown and sulk. "No 'welcome back' or 'how was your trip' at all? Didn't you miss me?"_

"_When did you get back?"_

"_Just now, about half an hour ago," she answered, rolling up the scroll and getting up from the floor._

_When she got up, she felt a gentle grasp on her hand. Her eyes met with Itachi's for moment before shifting down to their hands. He could tell she was still awkward from yesterday, but was trying hard to put up a comfortable front. His other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. Sakura stared in awe and disbelief as he put the necklace on her. When he finished, she grabbed the pendant of the necklace and blinked._

"_I'm…uh…." She couldn't find the words. "I…you…this necklace…um-"_

"_I never gave you a birthday present."_

_End Flashback_

"Hello? Forehead girl? Are you ok?" Ino asked, waving a hand up and down in front of Sakura's face and snapping her out of her thoughs.

Sakura looked away from the window and took her handoff the cold glass, dropping her hand to her side. "Yeah."

"Sakura! Ino!" the two girls looked ahead to see Neji and Naruto standing from afar. "Hurry up!"

* * *

"Sakura? Sakura? Forehead girl!" Ino called in the dark. 

"What," Sakura finally answered.

The two were lying in bed and all lights were off. To save their money, the four had decided to rent only two rooms. One would be for Neji and Naruto and the other would be for Sakura and Ino.

"Uhm...like, are you OK?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? I heard what happened from Naruto. Are you hiding something? Did you see something odd or frightening that you would like to talk about?"

"It's not that. I'm fine...just...yeah."

"Just?"

Sakura sighed. "I was just thinking...that it would hurt to love someone and find out that the love is fake."

"Well, I've been there. I realized that a few years ago. I was so in love with Sasuke and I thought that if he loved me back, everything would be perfect. But I overheard some stuff and found out that he left Konoha to kill the person who killed his family. And that made me realize that I was only fooling myself. Sasuke would throw away everything he has for revenge and it's probably all he cares about. There won't be a real love between him and me. So I gave up on him."

"Eh...yeah," Sakura whispered, silently wishing that Ino had known exactly what she meant. But it seems she didn't. "Well, night."

* * *

Two figures step foot onto the village, their black cloaks with imprinted crimson clouds gently flowed this way and that due to the breeze. The sounding of a bell rang as the figures proceeded into the city and roamed throughout the bustling streets. 

"The man is in the south," Kisame said, "in a cave just outside the village."

"And you say we must kill him because he's secretly hiring assassins to hunt down Akatsuki members?" Itachi asked for confirmation.

"Yes."

"Let's hurry and get this over with then."

"No. It's late and I'm tired from searching for you all over Konoha. We'll do it tomorrow morning."

"Fine."

"Oh, c'mon, Itachi. Why did we have to pay for a room? We're Akatsuki - we should have just threatened for the room. For an Akatsuki member, you sure are nice. How did you even get to join?" Kisame whined, walking beside Itachi. "You haven't been Akatsuki material lately, you know that? A while ago you stopped and stared at a necklace, _a necklace_!"

Itachi remembered clearly what Kisame was referring to. While walking through the streets trying to find a suitable hotel, they past by a jewelry shop and something caught Itachi's eyes. It was a beautiful necklace with a cherry blossom pendant, so similar to one that he had given to _her _that it seemed to be an exact duplicate.

Itachi stopped and said in a low voice, "There are other shinobis in this hotel."

"What? There are?" Kisame's eyes slightly widened at the surprise. "But I didn't sense anything. Are they powerful?"

"There is a powerful barrier set up to conceal their chakra. Since I have Mangekyou Sharingan activated I can sense the barrier, but I can't detect their chakra to measure their strength," Itachi finished and proceeded towards their room.

But little did he know, a single wall separated him and the only love of his life.

* * *

**Senko:** Once again, in case you didn't read my note, this is NOT THE END. 

It was the original ending chapter, yes. I had planned to end it with Sakura finding out about the Mangekyou Sharingan and she realizes that Itachi was real OR she is all depressed and wished it were real. However, I thought about it and I noticed that the ending was just plain mean and you readers might hate me for ending it like that. Crappy ending, right? So I decided to change the story and extend it and have Sakura and Itachi meet ;D

PLZ READ!

11/27: I'm so sorry for the late update. I actually had the entire thing typed up. YES, this ENTIRE STORY WAS DONE AND TYPED UP ON MY COMPUTER! However, I just recently moved and the internet in my room wasn't working and then the stupid computer had some issues and then my stupid hater brother went ahead and reformat the computer and I LOST EVERYTHING. YES. Everything. All the chapters...TT.TT so the past few days I've been sad ( all my hardwork...I had this chapter already typed up and I was planning on posting the chapters like one every week until the end but well I decided you readers need something )


	14. Chapter 14

**Senko: **Uhm...attempts to duck various weapons being thrown at her o.O;

I'm gonna skip this and go right on to the review replies and the story. Please read all the notes at the end T.T I know you guys are more interested in the story :D

**Disclaimer: **Me no own. Duh.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

The sun's rays and warmth crept through the slightly opened window and made its way into the small hotel room. The cheerful chirping of the birds could be heard amongst the busy chattering of the civilians. In her lone hotel room, Sakura stood in the bathroom. Her pale and depressed image reflected on the clear mirror. This was what she and many others would define as a perfect day. But to her, it was now sickening.

She hated it. She hated it because it was too happy, as if the entire world was completely oblivious to the pain and suffering deep within each individual. She wanted a rainy day, a gloomy day, so that the sky and world would mourn with the sadness that lingered within them.

A couple of knocks on the hotel room stole her attention from her mind

"Sakura...?" Ino's soft voice murmured from outside the door.

Sakura took one last glance at her fragile figure before calling out, "Coming" and quickly slipping into her shoes to answer the door.

Once outside, she was greeting with a small smile from Ino. "So, Naruto and Neji says that they are searching the southern area of the town and we'll take the outskirts of the village. Once they're done, they'll meet up with us to help us explore. We'll be communicating through Neji's wireless radios."

Sakura remained silent, taking in the information and quietly walking through the halls of the hotel.

* * *

"Here is your change, sir, and please have a nice day," the cashier girl handed Itachi his change, receipt, and bag of food. Itachi took it and marched out of the grocery shop followed by a sulking Kisame.

For the millionth time that morning, Kisame groaned, "Itachi..._why_ must we pay for food?" Itachi kept his gaze straight up ahead on the road, not bothering to answer Kisame. A glare almost formed on Kisame's face and annoyance was clear in his tone of voice. "Really, we're Akatasuki! The Akatsuki thing to is...is...is to go in that store and just take the food! Then...then we threaten to kill them and leave with free food. Good idea?"

There was still no answer from the elder Uchiha boy and Kisame assumed Itachi had probably ignored him again.

"Violence and destruction should not be initiated when it is unnecessary," Itachi stated. He looked over to Kisame from the corner of his eyes. Kisame, noticing this, felt a tinge of uneasiness rise inside him for fear that he had annoyed Itachi too much. "Besides..."

Kisame's steps slowed down drastically as Itachi continued to walk ahead of him.

"It was your money anyway."

Kisame inwardly growled and cursed and inside his head he was joyfully kicking and abusing little chibi Itachis everywhere.

* * *

Sakura walked beside her blond rival, trying her best to maintain her focus and do her job. Still, though, deep down she knew she was troubled by the recent events of the wish book. In a way, she felt almost...almost as if she yearned to return to that realm. Almost. 

She knew it was awful going into some fantasy world and falling in love with one of her enemies. Yet at the same time, she despised her current life. She should be happy to return to her own life, but truth be told she did not like to live pretending as though her love for that particular enemy never existed.

Her inner self, which reflected her true thoughts and desires, clearly missed that other world, the peace in it and more importantly the love she shared with the more mature and old Uchiha boy. How she wished she could return to see the smiling faces of her friends. There would be no pain. Sasuke would be a happy child and he wouldn't have gone to Orochimaru and her fiancee...she longed to hear his gentle voice and be beside him.

But this was her real world.

And in this world, Sasuke would never be like that. Ever. And in this world, it was forbidden of her to even think about Itachi in that way.

"Sakura? Sakuraaaaa?"

Sakura blinked, returning to reality. She turned to Ino, "Huh?"

"Uh..." Ino began, "in case you haven't noticed, the road splits here?"

Sakura quickly surveyed her surroundings and Ino was indeed correct. The road had diverged into two seperate paths and, lost in her thoughts, she had unconsciously began walking to the the path at right. "Oh, uh..."

Ino sighed. "You seriously need to focus, forehead girl. Oh well, I'll head left then. Contact me if you find anything."

* * *

"Alright! Time to eat!" Kisame exclaimed in joy when they returned to their hotel room.

"No," the Uchiha boy said, setting the food down on a nearby table.

"W-What?" Kisame stuttered. "Then why buy food when you won't eat it?"

"We shall eat after completing our task," Itachi replied.

In his mind, Kisame gleefully murdered the chibi Itachis.

* * *

Sakura gulped. The road ahead definitely did not seem to be a pleasant one. The flowers and butterflies and all the neat things that had once accompanied her seemed to have disappeared. There was a foreboding feeling of darkness that did not go unnoticed by Sakura and the cold breeze gave her goosebumps. 

She shook her head, pushing away the fear that had started to rise within her. Her inner self encouraged her to go forth and stay strong and obeying her inner self, she walked forwards.

Her steps stopped after only a while of walking. A regular civilian who stumbled upon this path would turn around (if they haven't already). In front of her, the road narrowed and thorns stretched everywhere to cover it.

She took a deep breath before entering the path of thorns.

* * *

"So where shall we start?" Kisame asked as they exited the hotel and faced the city. 

Itachi stopped for a couple seconds before replying, "You search the city and I'll search outskirts."

* * *

The various thorns produced small cuts and scrapes on her frail skin, but Sakura shoved away the stinging pain and moved on. After all, she was a shinobi and as a shinobi she would not allow such trivial wounds to affect her performance. 

Soon, she was out of the narrow path that had been covered with bushes and thorns and she found herself in front of a cave entrance. Deciding to investigate more before contacting Ino, she took a deep breath before entering the dark cave.

* * *

Itachi examined the path before him which had separated into two different roads. Which road should he take now? Had he known something like this would happen, he would have made Kisame come with him so that they could both each take a road. Not knowing which path to take, he decided to let his intruition take over. 

To the right?

Or to the left?

After standing in front of the separation of the road for a few more seconds, his feet lead him to what it felt should be the correct road. To the right.

* * *

Ino continued walking on, carefully taking her time to examine her surroundings. It was beautiful. The trees provided much shade and beautiful flowers bloomed everywhere. When she came to a open field, she stopped and sat down and finally decided to check up on Sakura. 

"Sakura? Forehead giiirrll," she drawled into the wireless radio. "Are you there? Neji? Naruto? Anyone?"

* * *

Neji and Naruto stood at the southern exit of the town. 

"_Sakura? Forehead giiirrl. Are you there? Neji? Naruto? Anyone?"_

The two boys clearly heard her over the wireless radio and glanced at each other before Neji replied, "Ino, its Neji and Naruto. We found nothing. We're about to come to you and Sakura now, just hang on."

* * *

Torches were set up alongside the cavern walls and kept the dark path lit enough for Sakura to see where she was headed. She found it odd for what seemed to be an abandoned cave to be set up as though it was a secret hideout. 

Her pace slowed down just a little. Her inner self screamed at her, _'DUH, Sakura! This could be the hideout! Hurry and call the others now!'_

Sakura nodded slightly in agreement with her inner self and opened her mouth to speak into the wireless radio. Then she stopped abruptly.

A faint sound of footsteps could be heard echoing through the halls and she lifted her head to look up ahead. She waited a few moments and finally a figure came from around the corner.

Her breath quickened and her inner self gasped.

The figure much resembled someone she held dear to her heart. He was a young boy and his dark-colored eyes stared right through her. His rather long dark hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail.

She knew it wasn't any of the Uchiha boys.

Yet…yet this extreme similarity to the elder Uchiha made her freeze where she stood. She was unaware that she had been standing there simply staring at him as he came towards her.

"_Sakura? Forehead giiirrl. Are you there? Neji? Naruto? Anyone?"_

She heard Ino's voice over the wireless radio but gave no reply. Her breath only quickened as the boy's walk stopped in front of her and his dark eyes stared straight into her emerald orbs.

"_Ino, its Neji and Naruto. We found nothing. We're about to come to you and Sakura now, just hang on."_

The sound of Neji's voice rang in her ears but again she unintentionally ignored it all.

"Miss…" he started.

She blinked. "Ah…I, uh…"

"Please help me," he shot himself straight at her and embraced her tightly, his silent sobs quietly made echoes that rang throughout the halls.

Sakura's eyes quickly widened in surprise at first from the instant hug, but they soon softened as she realized he could just be a poor victim caught in all of this. Her hands reached out and held him close, until she felt a burning pain in her side.

She gasped at the intense pain. The boy stepped back from her and she grabbed her side, feeling the blood ooze out of her body.

"_Sakura-chan? Sakura-chaaann? Are you okay? Were you stuttering? Did you see something? Sakura-chaaannn?"_

At this point, she couldn't even bring herself to answer Naruto. She looked straight at the boy questioning his actions only to be answered with an evil smirk and a bloody kunai in his hand. He launched himself at her again, but she was quick enough to jump back.

Inwardly, she cursed herself for having let her guard down. Reaching into her holster she brought out a few shurikens and aimed it at the boy, which he managed to dodge.

"_Sakura-chan! Sakuraaa-chaaann!"_

She lunged at him, gathering chakra into her fist. Unfortunately, he quickly jumped to the side and barely dodged that attack as well and rapidly appeared behind her. Sakura instantly turned around to be met with him.

"_Sakura-chan, please answer us now. Say something, anything? Are you okay?"_

He let out a chuckle and his young form instantly transformed into an older man with pale skin, dark eyes and messy dark hair. "Fool, you let your guard down. What a weakling."

Sakura gritted her teeth in anger. "Are you the one killing innocent people?"

"_Huh? Who? Me? I'm killing innocent people? Nooooooo, I'm killing people! I'm corrupted!"_

"_You idiot! She could be talking to someone else!"_

"_Sigh…what a freaken idiot…"_

"Killing innocent people? I simply remove the existence of those who annoy me," he stated coolly, as though he had every right to.

"You disgust me!" she growled and focused chakra into her fist and lunged at him again.

"_Oh, no! Sakura-chan is disgusted that I'm an idiot!"_

"_Shut up, you idiot!"_

He smirked once again and…

Her attack stopped an inch before him.

Her deep breaths were the only sounds.

In front of her stood the figure of Sasuke and, caught off guard, the Sasuke stabbed her stomach causing her to falter and fall on her back. She knew it wasn't the Sasuke she had known. Yet no matter who it really was, she couldn't bring herself to harm Sasuke.

He stalked up to her and stopped in front of her, "I am a genjutsu specialist, born from a strong line of shinobi with the ability to read the heart of others. How pathetic…in your heart, someone takes this form and he means a lot to you…so much you can't even attack even though you know I'm not him. What has the world come to, allowing weaklings like you to become a shinobi?"

Sakura glared up at him, defiant at him for daring to take the form of Sasuke. Slowly getting up, she watched as he prepared to strike her again. But the sound of foreign footsteps grabbed both of their attention. The man turned around and Sakura could see the familiar shape of a black cloak with the red cloud patterns.

It wasn't just that cloak she could identify. It was that long dark hair held in a ponytail. It was that same stoic expression that adorned his face. It was that purple nail polish that decorated his finger nails. It was…those same crimson eyes she remembered all too well, terrifying and mesmerizing.

* * *

"Naruto! Neji!" Ino called out to the boys who had finally caught up. She had walked back from the road she took until she came to the spot where the path had begun to part and waited there for them. 

"The roads part here!" Naruto stated in shock.

Ino nodded. "I went left and Sakura went right. There's nothing in the left, just a bunch of trees and flowers and open fields."

"Then...perhaps with what we heard from Sakura over the wireless radio, she could have found the villain," Neji deducted.

"Lets go!" Naruto exclaimed, dashing into the direction at right.

* * *

"I assume you are the one who has been secretly hiring shinobi to assassinate Akatsuki members?" Itachi asked. 

The figure of Sasuke faded and returned to the original villain's shape. "And you'll be my next victim."

Itachi drew out a few shurikens into his fingers and launched it at the man and Sakura, seeing this as an opportunity to also attack him, quickly gathered chakra into her fist and lunged at him from his other side. He was lucky to be able to dodge Sakura's attack and he quickly stepped to the side to catch her in an open position and deliver a punch to her stomach. However, although he was able to evade Sakura, he was hit by a couple of Itachi's shurikens. Being a strong shinobi, he quickly ignored the pain. After all, it was much more wise to take the hit from shurikens than from Sakura's strength.

Sakura fell to her knees. Stabbed in the side and then in the stomach and now punched in the stomach where the wound was. She cursed herself for not being stronger. Now that Itachi was there to occupy the villian, she figured she could finally heal herself and she gathered the greenish chakra to her hands.

Distance away from Sakura, the man and Itachi stood face to face. He chuckled. "Let's see if you are stronger than that pathetic kunoichi. Lets see...if you can handle fighting a person you hold dear to you!"

Itachi watched expressionless as the man's form began to change. Then his eyes narrowed at the form.

Sakura placed her hand over her wound, allowing the chakra to work its magic and heal her wounds. Lifting her head to see the fight, her eyes widened in surprise, in shock...in disbelief.

A clone of her stood yards away from her and in front of Itachi.

And the words rang in her head.

_Let's see if you are stronger than that pathetic kunoichi. Lets see...if you can handle fighting a person you hold dear to you!_

Instantly, her focus drew away from her healing and the green chakra, as soon as it had appeared, disappeared.

But how could this be?

How could this Itachi hold her dear to him?

Wouldn't...only...the Wish Book Itachi be the one to do that?

* * *

"It almost seems to be a dead end," Ino said, surveying the path of thorns. 

'But if Sakura-chan was talking..." Naruto's sentence drifted away.

"It would only mean she went through this path, and we must do the same," Neji finished.

The trio glanced at one another before struggling through the road, the obstacles scratching at them in every direction.

* * *

"Foolishness," Itachi said. "Why bother transforming into a clone of what is already in front of me...better yet, why even take the form of something I do not care about?" 

Sakura looked away in disappointment. She knew it, she knew he couldn't have cared about her. Perhaps this villain was just joking. She was a fool, she was so stupid to even had thought for a second that this Itachi would be the same as the one she had fallen in love with.

"Your mouth says things your heart cannot deny," he chuckled. "You can't trick me. You worthless and pathetic shinobi! I SEE ALL IN THE HEART!"

Itachi closed his eyes. "The absurdity of all of this," and he opened them again to reveal a different pattern within his pupils, the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The man's screech filled the entire area and Sakura dared not to look up to see the scene. She remained down on her knees, her hand clutching her wound and the green chakra gone.

"Only weak shinobi would be pathetic enough to fall for his feeble genjutsu," she heard Itachi's voice continue.

Sakura struggled to get herself up, watching the back of the Akatsuki member as he walked away. "I-Itachi."

"You are unworthy of anything," he stated, turning his head slightly to the side.

And that was the last she could handle. Those words, she even that even though this was not the Itachi she fell for...still, those words hurt so much. For so long she had fought and strove to improve so that others would deem her adequate.

Those words, especially from the one who took the appearance of the man she loved...

Hurt her so badly.

And her world went dark.

* * *

_**PLEASE READ.**_

**Senko: **Okeii everyone! I'm sure that many of you might be going "SENKO WTF IS YOUR PROBLEM!! You didn't update for AGESSS!" and I admit it's all my fault v.v I am guilty of it.

And my lame excuse is...Maple Story has ruined me T.T heck, my grades for this past semester decreased because I was too obsessed over Maple Story and my goal of leveling up D: and it is my fault. In addition, I skipped out on many Naruto episodes and I even stopped reading the manga because I was too involved in Maple Story o.O; originally I had planned to finish Worlds Apart during summer, but I just got lazy. I got so lazy I hardly even trained in Maple Story! I just woke up, got on the computer and did random crap.

The reason why I am writing this tonight isn't because I decided that I would quit Maple Story...it's cause Maple Story got boring without uhm...certain things o.O; and I feel very unmovitated to watch other anime :\ so I decided to finally log onto and I realized I still keep getting reviews ;O and then it hit me...

You loyal readers have still sent me reviews telling me to update and that shows that you guys havent given up on me. Therefore, I must not give up on anime, on manga, on Naruto, on fanfiction...ON THIS STORY! D:

Okeii that sounded gay...O.O; but you get the point...erm...hopefully xD

I sincerely and deeply apologize to all of you, my wonderful readers/reviewers. Please forgive Shmenko...T.T

**kenseikan weirdo:** AWWW! Thank you so much! That comment is sooo nice!

**ApplelyApple:** Your wonderful review was the review that made me realize all this and that I shouldn't give up! ;) THANKIES TO YOOH!

Thanks to **Emriel, sillymail teej, SweetAssassin, Starfire1, Narutofan462, starwishes, XxHotBloodySirenxX, Rhonda21, ninjaxbunny, Tri17, Heartless Ghostie, bubbleyum, Soul of AquaBlue, msblacsakura, theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff, Skullcandy, Mistress DragonFlame, Doctor Meowzie, Itachi's CherryBlossom, konohaGirl, yourdarkdesire, Hyousetsu, Sakura0777, RoseMcGee, animemistress419, Hao'sAnjul, nmun, Super Blahblahblah, Okami15 Lina Mistress of Elements, Lady Tsunade, RozenMaiden14, SatuAka, shadow miko, MomoiroNeko, T34rSoFBlOoD, animevivverz, chakrastrings, Anime-Fan, ItaSaku lover, Vu-girl, Coeur Casse, carefree and lovely, BlackElement7, horse-angel, pheonixshadows, Glass.DOLLS, looky it super woman, InuKeifer, CosenAngel, dueless33396, hiri, LenoreHepburn, Tari Shiro,** and **thequietwriter** for reviewing! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

To **alphadale**: Hiya! Uhm...yea I know I've been a terrible author T.T and I haven't even checked my mails at all...cause of...-points to Maple Story- o.O but yes :D and sorry I couldn't get you to beta this chappie :( I just started typing out of the blue and decided that I should release this chappie asap for all the readers :D but you can beta the other ones! Reply please?


	15. Chapter 15

**Senko:** Welcome to…-drumrolls- THE FINAL CHAPTER OF "WORLDS APART"!

I would like to take this moment to sincerely thank all of you wonderful readers and reviewers! I had an original story in mind that I had been thinking about for years and I was thinking about making it into a manga (Senko luffs drawing ;3) but I wasn't sure if it was a good story. Therefore, I changed the story a bit and made it into a fanfic to see how others would like the idea ;D and you guys are just so awesome! 500 plus reviews! I LOVE YOU GUYS! This shows the story might not be that bad lol

**Rii.MAYORI:** OMG ;D LOL I play on Bera. My mage's ign is AnimeSenko and my bandit is jeiLoxdLtx ;D what's yours? And uhh don't erm…bother to look me up on the ranking o.o; I erm…kinda got taken off the rankings x.X lol

**Tari Shiro: **OMGGG that motto is the ownage motto!

**Hao's Anjul:** I think you're awesome o.o; lol

**Thequietwriter:** You were one, yes ;D one day, I received a review thing from you and checked my reviews lol

**ninjaxbunny:** Hi! I love you :D LOL cause I think you're awesome you're awesome for giving me food xD

**Applely Apple: **WOW :D I love your review! xD Ty Ty!

Thanks a bunch to **Epitome-of-all-things-Engli…, Wounded Angel, Mistress DragonFlame, …, Lina Mistress of Elements, Gabiuti, BlackElement7, clea everlasting, eaax o o, SweetAssassin, Gothic Saku-chan, Rhonda21, Hikari Adams, Challa, Nenagh24, mahalo4ursupport, Aruxia, Soul of AquaBlue, until-death-comes, RoseMcGee, Sunset Sky, anonymous, CosenAngel, SatuAka, **and **Queen of the Bobs** for reviewing!

**Disclaimer:** Me no own. Duh.

* * *

**Final Chapter**

Sakura awoke to the low chattering of her fellow teammates and slowly opened her eyes. She pulled herself up and realized that she was back at the hotel. Ino, Naruto, and Neji stood around her; her awakening must have stopped their conversation. She tried to remember what had happened.

"Uh…what happened?" she asked, having failed to remember anything.

"You said some odd stuff over the wireless radio," Neji said. "When we got to where you were, you were unconscious outside a cave or something."

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto agreed. "And the cave was collapsed and there was this weird guy dead next to you."

"Weird guy dead?" her heartbeat quickened for a moment. A guy dead? Could it be…Itachi? No…it couldn't be. Itachi was too powerful.

"It was the guy we were supposed to investigate or kill," Ino corrected Naruto.

Sakura sighed. She didn't know why Itachi was there and she felt disappointed that she couldn't see him longer…but perhaps what bothered her most was the fact that the enemy had transformed into Sakura as the person Itachi held dear to him. She shook her head. No, it wouldn't make any sense that way. The only Itachi that would ever even consider Sakura in that way…would be the one from the book.

Right?

Nothing was making any sense to her right now. Perhaps…the enemy could read the hearts of all sorts of Itachi? But that couldn't be possible.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto's voice stole Sakura's attention from her thoughts.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"I almost forgot to tell you that you were holding this when you were unconscious," he reached into a pocket and brought out a cherry blossom necklace and Sakura's eyes slightly widened at the shock of it.

"Where…did you get that?" Sakura asked, still staring at the necklace in Naruto's hand.

Naruto placed the necklace in front of her. "I told you, you were holding it when you were unconscious. I took it so it wouldn't fall out when we carried you back here."

Sakura remembered vividly the necklace. She had seen it when she passed by some stores with Ino last night.

_Flashback_

_"So then Shika-kun brought me to his favorite cloud gazing place and we lied there together and then guess what! He said he loves me!" Ino squealed, a blush appearing on her face as she recalled the event. Sakura and Ino walked side by side behind Naruto and Neji as the four made their way back to the hotel. _

_"Oh...that's really nice," Sakura said almost emotionlessly. She was still somewhat depressed and often looked away from Ino, trying to avoid eye contact or looking at Ino's face. No, it wasn't that Ino was ugly. In fact, Sakura had to admit that Ino was the second most beautiful person she knew, Tsunade being the first. It was simply that Ino was such a cheerful person and Sakura found it hard to see such a happy face when she herself felt so dead and alone._

_Trying to avoid seeing Ino, even from the corner of her eye, Sakura looked to her right and directed her attention at the line of stores. Something caught her eye, and she stopped to gaze at it._

_"And then, " Ino stopped. "Sakura?" Ino turned around to see Sakura looking through a shop's window. She walked over to Sakura. "What's so interesting?"_

_And there, in the middle of the display section was a beautiful necklace with a small yet cute cherry blossom as the pendant. "That's a pretty necklace, Sakura..." her sentence drifted into an end as she noticed a feeling of sadness wash over Sakura's eyes. Sakura stared at the necklace, remembering the familiarity of it._

_End Flashback_

She even remembered clearly how it all began.

_Flashback_

"_Yo, Itachi-kun!" Sakura greeted, reminding Itachi of Kakashi. _

_Itachi blinked as he saw Sakura look up from the scroll she was reading. He had just arrived home and entered his room._

"_You're back," he said._

"_That's all?" she faked a frown and sulk. "No 'welcome back' or 'how was your trip' at all? Didn't you miss me?"_

"_When did you get back?"_

"_Just now, about half an hour ago," she answered, rolling up the scroll and getting up from the floor._

_When she got up, she felt a gentle grasp on her hand. Her eyes met with Itachi's for moment before shifting down to their hands. He could tell she was still awkward from yesterday, but was trying hard to put up a comfortable front. His other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. Sakura stared in awe and disbelief as he put the necklace on her. When he finished, she grabbed the pendant of the necklace and blinked._

"_I'm…uh…." She couldn't find the words. "I…you…this necklace…um-"_

"_I never gave you a birthday present."_

_End Flashback_

"Are you okay, forehead-girl?" Ino asked, waving a hand in front of Sakura's eyes which only saw the necklace. "Uh…well, I don't know what that necklace is. We're gonna go buy some food. Hopefully you…are okay by the time we get back."

"Sakura-chan…?" Naruto quietly asked, but when he received no answer from the pink-haired kunoichi he turned away and followed the figures of Ino and Neji walking out the hotel room.

* * *

Kisame sighed. "Itachi, can you at least tell me why you're in such a hurry? We have time; let's relax and have some fun before we go back to report to Leader." 

"Keep you're voice down," Itachi said. "And don't question me. We're leaving."

"But Itachi," Kisame began, but was abruptly cut off.

"Start packing. Now," Itachi commanded, not even bothering to look at Kisame but continued to gather his things.

Kisame growled. "ITACHI! What is with you lately!"

Itachi looked up at Kisame. No, it wasn't looking up. It was more like a glare, one of those deadly and cold glares. The kind that clearly tells you 'I am going to kill you.'

* * *

The cherry blossom necklace lied on Sakura's lap and her emerald eyes stared at it for what seemed to be an eternity to her. Nothing was making any sense to her and she hated it. 

Her vision became cloudy and she realized she was getting teary but trying to be a strong person she forced the tears back and took a deep breath. Was she thinking too much? Or perhaps she wasn't thinking about it enough? How she wished that she was still in the book so none of this would happen…or that she never entered the book in the first place so that she wouldn't feel this way.

She leaned back against the pillow on the bed and closed her eyes. She wanted an answer to everything. She wanted to know what was happening or what had happened. She hated this confusion.

Inwardly, she prayed for a sign.

Any sign.

The room remained silent and the ticking of the clock rang in her ears. Then it was interrupted.

"ITACHI! What is with you lately!"

Her eyes bolted open and she sat up straight. Was she…dreaming? She could have sworn she heard someone calling Itachi from the room next to hers. Thankfully her bed was situated near the wall. She got off the bed and pressed her ear against the wall.

* * *

There was a moment of silence between the two Akatsuki members, their eyes staring at one another's. 

"I said…" Itachi began, "to not question me."

Kisame took a deep breath, calming himself, and said in a lower voice. "You haven't been yourself lately and it's annoying me. You're acting…too nice. We're Akatsuki; we're strong, powerful, cold, ruthless."

Itachi gave no reply and this only infuriated Kisame more.

Kisame growled. "And today you bought some necklace, some girly little necklace! You're getting too soft!"

There was another silence before Itachi finally answered. "It's just a bad day."

* * *

Sakura drew apart from the wall and sat on the edge of the bed. How could she have not realized that he was in the room right next to her? So much time and she hadn't even noticed it. She wondered if the others noticed too. 

'Well, we can't blame ourselves for not knowing,' her inner self said. 'After all, Itachi is powerful. He'd conceal his chakra.'

Sakura stared down at the necklace in her hand. What should she do? He was so close to her, only a single wall away. She could…she could stay there and be engulfed in her own sadness. She could keep quiet and remain lost in her confusion. Or…or she could…

She gulped and took a deep breath before walking out of her room, the necklace gripped tightly in the palm of her hand. She turned to the left of the hallway and stopped before the door. She hesitated before bringing her hand up to the door and gently delivering a couple knocks.

There was no answer.

She knocked again, this time slightly louder than the last.

* * *

The knocks on the door rang inside Itachi's head and his eyes narrowed. He didn't know what to do. There was no doubt about who was at the door. Since the Byakugan user was gone, the barrier from the previous night had been let down and he could sense her all too familiar chakra that radiated from the door. 

"Kisame…" he whispered. "Leave now and I'll follow behind."

Kisame hesitated before turning towards the hotel window, opening it and leaping out.

There was a silence in the room. The knocks seemed to have stopped and Itachi was about to follow behind Kisame when a series of more knocks stole his attention. The knocks were louder and he stopped in his tracks. He inwardly sighed before walking up to the door, his hand on the doorknob ready to open the door.

"Itachi…" her soft voice said from outside.

He stopped and his hand dropped to his side. What was he thinking? He was about to open the door for _her_. He cursed to himself, turned his back to the door, fell against it and dropped to the ground not knowing what to do. Perhaps he should just leave.

* * *

Sakura's fingers gently touched the door and her head leaned against it. She knew he was there. "Itachi, I know you're there." 

There was still no answer, but she supposed that was how he was. After all, she couldn't expect for him to reply. What would he say? Greet her? Tell her everything? Tell her what she wanted to hear? Tell her that he loves her? As if.

"Tell me, was it all a dream?" she could hear her own voice beginning to crack. She waited for a while but still there no answer. "Just one word…just one, Itachi."

Just one.

* * *

Itachi's back leaned against the door. Just one word, she said. He wanted to say more than just one word, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He didn't want to say anything. 

There was a period of silence, just the tension that hung in the atmosphere. Although she said nothing, she didn't need to say anything. He could feel it in her voice, feel it in the quietness of the area…her confusion, her desire to get an answer, her missing him.

But that was why he couldn't answer. He had carried her out of the cave before it collapse and placed her gently on the ground somewhere safe and gave placed the necklace in her hand. His plan was to leave as soon as possible and he'd never see her again. Then he could forget about her and never cross his path with hers ever again. His plan failed thanks to Kisame and he inwardly swore to make Kisame pay.

A minute or two passed by before he could finally bring himself to say anything. "Let's just move on with our lives."

* * *

His answer told her everything and she knew that he knew about that other world. That was why he told her to move on with their lives. Yet she wasn't satisfied with that answer. In fact it angered her. 

"How can you say that!" she could feel the tears forming inside her eyes. "You'd throw away everything we had like this!"

She waited and when there was no answer from behind that door that hid him from her eyes, she unknowingly banged her fist against the door. "Doesn't it mean anything to you? Don't _I_ mean anything? You're such a different person from who you were! How can you say it so indifferently, as if you don't care!"

She stopped and the tears rolled down her creamy skin. "That's right…it's because you don't care, isn't it?"

* * *

It wasn't that he didn't care, but rather it was because he knew he couldn't do something like this. He wasn't the type to come out and confess his own feelings. In addition, he knew she wanted to hear him say those three words but he knew that they would both regret it later. He was Akatsuki and she was the Leaf, the Leaf that he betrayed. 

If only…he wasn't Uchiha, Itachi. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have killed his clan. He wouldn't have betrayed the Leaf. He wouldn't have joined Akatsuki. He wouldn't have made Sasuke hate him and swear revenge. He would...have been able to care for her.

But this was reality.

And he was Uchiha, Itachi.

He could hear her soft sobs that echoed throughout the chambers of his heart. Her three words combined with her sobs to leave marks on those chambers. "I miss you…"

Feelings were for the weak. He took a few moments to organize his words before speaking.

"What happened in that other world…should not be brought into this one."

* * *

Her sobs only became louder and more intense with those words. She knew perfectly what he meant and those words only made her feel even worse. Those words had reminded her of who she was. 

She was a Leaf kunoichi, she was a medic-nin, she was someone who trained under the Godaime, she was a member of Team Seven, she was a friend of Naruto, she was…the one who fell in love with Sasuke.

Such feelings were forbidden in every single aspect and these feelings were only allowed in a world where Itachi had not murdered his family.

She hated it so much and screamed to herself why things had to be this way. Every time she thought her life was going well, when she thought everything felt so correct…something tears her life apart.

When she had gained control of herself again, a small smile adorned her pretty face although the tears were still streaming. "Never forget me."

* * *

Itachi brought himself up on his feet again and paused for a moment. 

"I won't."

* * *

The tears stopped falling. She hadn't expected such an answer and she instantly grabbed hold of the doorknob, opened the door and stormed inside. Much to her disappointment though, there was no one there anymore and the open window didn't go unnoticed to her. 

She wanted to see him once more, but those two words of his were enough.

Before her, she realized his shirt lying on the ground. He was packing before she interrupted him and Kisame. Perhaps she had scared him when she so rapidly stormed in that he left.

She dropped down to her knees, took hold of his shirt and engulfed herself in his unforgettable scent. Her tears came again.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's beamed. 

Sakura growled. "Naruto! You idiot! This is a hospital, so be quiet!"

"Sorry, sorry," Naruto grinned. "You're shift is over now, right? Let me walk you home."

Sakura sighed. "It's okay. Don't you have a date right now?"

"I was hoping I could quickly walk you home and run and meet up with Hinata-chan?" he said.

She glared at him. "You get your ass to where you're supposed to meet up with Hinata-chan. NOW. I'll be fine," she stated before walking off, followed by Naruto. Once she was out of the hospital, they went in their own opposite directions.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" she could hear his cheerful yell from behind and she smiled as she continued to walk away from him.

It had been a few weeks since _that _mission and she had recovered. She was now her own happy self. She had taken his shirt with her and wore it to sleep every night. At first, she would cry every night as she recalled events from the book whenever she smelled his scent. However, as the weeks went by her crying stopped.

She realized that everything would be alright. There was nothing wrong with loving him. She knew he wouldn't ever forget her and that was all she could ask for, even though she wished she could be by his side.

This was her life, her destiny.

She had come to put away her selfish desire of being with him in hopes that he'd return to the Leaf. She had come to realize that it was enough to be content with memories. Everything would be kept locked away in her heart and visited in her dreams. No one but they would relive their secret in their minds.

There is a wide gap between worlds and that gap can never ever be filled. Yet in the most impossible way ever, they were able to reach each other. They were...worlds apart.

The End

* * *

_**IMPORTANT**_

**Senko:** If you want a sequel, then please say so. OR if you would like an alternate ending, say so and I'll think up of an alternate ending. This is the real ending I had in mind but I know it sucks for a story to end sadly, so yea if you want a sequel or alternate ending please say so ;) ideas and suggestions are much appreciated!

Last note: I am making a doujinshi for "The Devil's Embrace" :P myahahaaa...behold, my crap drawing skills :D

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR READING! S2 (it's a heart ;O)


End file.
